BPCL Injected Rs 28 Cr in 30 Start-Ups So Far, Says Hardeep Singh Puri

Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) has disbursed Rs 28 crore from a fund worth Rs 88 crore to support more than 30 start-ups across various sectors, including energy, healthcare, artificial intelligence (AI), and agriculture, said Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Puri wrote, “India’s start-up ecosystem is booming, driving growth and innovation across multiple sectors”.

The company has invested in several areas like fuel-flexible turbines, CO2 to methanol conversion, drones for inspection, manhole cleaning robots, smart ECG and telemedicine, metaverse tools, real-time feedback systems, etc. With the help of this fund, BPCL is empowering youth to become job creators and leaders, Puri added.

Apart from BPCL, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Oil India Limited have also invested in start-ups to support India’s innovation landscape. To date, HPCL has invested Rs 27 crore to empower 28 start-ups. The company’s ‘Udgam’ initiative has raised Rs 35 crore so far to support new-age green energy businesses.

On the other hand, Oil India Limited is backing 15 start-ups across diverse sectors, including projects such as the development of a hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric bus and a wireless robot for oil well inspection and multi-functional oil and gas operations. The initiative is supported by a dedicated startup fund of Rs 50 crore.

A few months ago, Puri told Outlook Business that oil marketing companies (OMCs) are likely to raise start-up funds to Rs 2,000 core. Currently, PSUs under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas are fostering innovation through an Rs 547.35 crore start-up fund.

According to official data, climate tech companies raised a mere $50 billion in private and public equity in 2024, a 40% decline from 2023. It was the third consecutive year of contraction for the sector. Further, out of over 800 operational climate tech start-ups, only 25% have been able to secure venture capital funds.

Initially, in 2017, around 10 PSUs under the oil ministry including Indian Oil and ONGC unveiled a Rs 320 crore fund to support start-ups in the oil and gas sector for a period of three years.