Telangana invites solutions to seven public-sector challenges, applications open till November 30
HYDERABAD The Telangana government has opened up opportunities for startups, innovators and technology companies to develop solutions to public-sector challenges and potentially become government contractors through the Telangana Innovation Startup Challenge (TISC). Launched at the curtain raiser of the Invest Telangana Global Summit 2026 in New Delhi last week, the initiative aims to harness the State’s innovation capabilities to address seven priority challenges confronting rural and urban Telangana.
It offers selected startups a direct opportunity to work with government departments, undertake pilot projects and secure long-term business opportunities through procurement and deployment, subject to evaluation. How to apply? Applications for the inaugural edition of TISC are open until November 30, 2026. Startups, individual innovators, researchers, industry players and academic institutions from across India and global innovation hubs can apply through the portal tisc.telangana.gov.in.
Dates for shortlisting, departmental reviews and the final round will be announced shortly. The seven challenges The seven challenges identified for the inaugural phase cover agriculture, food safety, land protection, urban infrastructure, healthcare, education and crop mapping. Theft-resistant solar panels, tamper-proof grid metering sought Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy directed officials to invite innovative solutions for solar-powered irrigation, designated as the lead challenge.
Under this challenge, participants are expected to develop affordable solar pumps or retrofit kits for deep borewells that are 30% cheaper, with theft-resistant solar panels and tamper-proof grid metering. The broader objective is to facilitate solar-powered irrigation for every farm in the State while reducing the burden of electricity consumption. Food adulteration, land encroachments and other challenges Other challenges include developing rapid food-adulteration testing kits and AI-enabled kitchen hygiene monitoring systems to ensure safer food in residential hostels; satellite-based systems to identify encroachments on lakes and government lands; and vehicle-mounted cameras for automated pothole mapping, along with durable road repair materials capable of withstanding monsoon conditions.
The challenge also seeks a handheld, needle-free haemoglobin screening device that can be used by Anganwadi workers and auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs), an AI-enabled Telugu reading assessment tool to identify children’s reading levels and recommend personalised practice, and satellite- and app-based crop mapping at the survey-number level within weeks of sowing. Innovations showcase at Invest Telangana summit The selected innovations will get an opportunity to showcase their solutions at the Invest Telangana Global Summit 2026, scheduled to be held at Bharat Future City in December.
Submissions will be evaluated on the relevance of the proposed solution to the identified problem, uniqueness of innovation, technology readiness, team capabilities and potential impact on the public and industrial sectors. The initiative will bring together institutions such as T-Hub, T-Works, WE-Hub, Telangana Global Innovation Centre (TGIC) and Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad (RICH), besides academic and research institutions, startups, investors and industry partners.
The objective is to facilitate collaboration, real-world validation, pilot implementation and eventual government adoption of successful solution
