GovStart Bridge is a mechanism proposed for the Maharashtra State Innovation Society, under the Department of Skills, Employment, Entrepreneurship & Innovation, in answer to Smart India Hackathon problem statement SIH26136.

MSInS already runs Maharashtra Startup Week — an annual cohort competition that issues work orders of up to ₹15 lakh (₹25 lakh under the 2025 policy) to about 24 startups a year for departmental pilots. It works. It is also annual, supply-led, and stops at the pilot.

Our proposal is to make it standing, demand-led and year-round — and to give every validated pilot a lawful route to an actual purchase order, using only instruments that already exist in the General Financial Rules.