What?s your idea worth? A cool Rs 10 lakh if it?s good enough.

National Geographic Channel (NGC) will identify and recognise outstanding innovators and their concepts with its Innovator of the Year and Young Innovator of the Year awards, worth Rs 10 lakh and Rs 2 lakh, respectively.

While the first category is open to everyone, those participating in the second must be aged between 12 and 18 years.

The channel has tied up with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi to shortlist candidates for the two awards. ?The judges will look for novelty, extent of implementation and at what stage the idea is in,? said Prof A.K. Sengupta of IIT?s Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT), which is handling the search.

?But the most important factor will be whether it makes a difference to society with a measurable impact,? he added. The area of the innovation does not have to be restricted to IT or medicine.

Forms will be available on National Geographic websites (www.nationalgeographic.co.in) and FITT (www.fitt-iitd.org) till October 12. ?We are designing the form in such a way so as to weed out false claims and plagiarism,? Sengupta added.

A panel of judges from the IIT will shortlist five ideas each for the two categories by October 30. An on-ground symposium on November 12 will present these projects to a group of industry experts, venture capital firm representatives and ?top brains of the country?. The final selection will be made on November 13.

?We will film capsules on the top 10 entries and they will be aired as a part of our Nokia Innovation series,? said Dilshad Master, senior VP, NGC India.

The first eight episodes of the 14-part series will try to demystify breakthrough technologies, simplifying subjects like stem cell research, brain fingerprinting and sophisticated warfare technology for the masses.

The remaining episodes will feature the 10 innovators.