Chennai, Dec 21 (IANS): Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), the Indian commercial vehicle subsidiary of the German automobile giant Daimler AG, on Monday announced a global competition "Startup Sparks" for early stage startups.

In a statement issued here, DICV said the early stage startups have been asked to pitch their ideas in the fields of Electric Vehicles and Alternate Mobility, Connectivity & Servitization, Future Mobility, and Customized Applications & Industrial Products.

"As the inventors of the first passenger car, omnibus and truck, innovation is a part of Daimler's heritage. We're excited to continue that tradition by launching The Farm, an incubator platform, to drive innovation that offers early-stage entrepreneurs and inventors the chance to turn ideas into reality. Our vision is to develop and evolve mobility solutions to embrace a better life for people and the planet," said Satyakam Arya, CEO & Managing Director DICV.

The competition, which will be held entirely online for this first edition, will be open from December 21, 2020 to January 29, 2021.

Startup participants are asked to submit their application online at www.daimlertrucksasia.in/mywebsite/farm. This is open to early-stage startups, small and medium enterprises (SME) and entrepreneurs.

The final shortlisted startups will participate in the preincubation module followed by the nine-month incubation programme.

With mentorship, infrastructure and funding support from DICV, academia and domain experts, participants can mature their ideas to the 'proof of concept' stage.

According to DICV, the initiative is organised in association with the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India and Invest India - the national investment promotion and facilitation agency.