Fremont: The India Internet Group (IIG), a new India-focused startup accelerator that invests in early stage internet/mobile startups, announced its public launch. With a unique India-focused business plan competition, it is trying to attract U.S.-based entrepreneurs.

IIG was co-founded by Anirudh Suri and Nihal Mehta. With offices in Mumbai and New York, IIG also facilitates cross-pollination of ideas, technologies and startups between the U.S. and India. It also provides talent, driven entrepreneurs with on-the-ground management strategy and execution. The firm invests as little as $25,000 to $100,000 and as much as $300,000 to $500,000, depending on the stage of the startup and its needs.

“We are super excited to help bridge the entrepreneurial ecosystems of India and the U.S., and germinate the seeds for the inevitable Internet revolution in India. Despite significant challenges, there are so many positive macro factors in India today – rising incomes, increased access to information and choices, and several more. IIG wants to play an active part in this transformation by both investing in startups and incubating innovative startups,” says Anirudh Suri, Co-Founder, IIG.

Anirudh Suri is also the founder of EkSMS, India’s first personalized SMS-and web-based recommendation engine. He previously served aws a policy advisor to the Minister of State for Communications and Technology in the Government of India, where he focused on mobile, broadband internet and cybersecurity-related issues. Suri studied business and public administration, pursuing a joint MBA-MPA degree at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated from Haverford College with a BA in Economics and International Relations.

Nihal Mehta has over 12 years of experience in innovating marketing technologies through several successful startups to date. He is a noted expert in the emerging adoption of mobile technologies for media properties and consumer brands. Mehta is currently CEO and Co-Founder of LocalResponse, which helps marketers respond to check-ins. Mehta is a graduate from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Philosophy and a BSE in Computer Science.

IIG and its partners have previously invested in several successful startups, Exclusively.in, Ignighter and The Wild East Group, that are led by entrepreneurs from the U.S. The business plan competition, targeted at such talented entrepreneurs living, working or studying in the U.S., will identify and support plans for innovative, India-focused internet and mobile technology businesses.

To identify more entrepreneurs, IIG plans to reach out to students at top business, engineering and design schools, in addition to budding entrepreneurs currently working at professional services firms, large technology companies and startups across the U.S. To help facilitate their transition to India, IIG will provide the selected entrepreneurs or teams initial seed funding fo up to $150,000, access to its vast network of relationships and mentors in India, as well as other resources such as office space and legal advisors.

In addition to investing in startups, IIG is also incubating startups. The user gets smarter recommendations and targeted deals as the system incorporates their stated and implicit preferences over time. Also, the local merchants are able to drive greater traffic using an easy-to-use, real-time location-based advertising and inventory management platform.