AIM SUMVAAD in Indore Launches State Incubator Alliances for Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), under NITI Aayog, successfully hosted the Regional AIM SUMVAAD – Central India Edition in Indore, bringing together government, industry, academia, incubators, and startups to strengthen collaboration and build a robust innovation ecosystem. The conclave also launched state incubator alliances in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Event Highlights

• Venue: Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT), Indore, Madhya Pradesh
• Participants: Stakeholders from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, startup councils, incubators, CSR partners, and industry leaders
• Focus Areas: Strengthening State–Centre collaboration, building incubator networks, promoting inclusive entrepreneurship, accelerating innovation

Key Outcomes

• Launch of State Chapters: Madhya Pradesh Incubation Consortium and Thar Incubation Alliance (Rajasthan)
• Strategic Dialogues: Scaling state-led innovation initiatives, enhancing academia-industry collaboration, enabling innovation-driven growth
• Special Sessions: Building effective people and culture in incubation centres, shifting models “From Grants to Growth”

Leadership Insights

• Deepak Bagla, Mission Director, AIM: “Incubators are the cornerstone of a thriving startup ecosystem, transforming ideas into scalable ventures.”
• Himanshu Rai, Director, IIM Indore: India is moving from a service mindset to a science mindset, requiring patient capital and deep research.
• Viraj Bhanage, Director, RRCAT: Incubators play a vital role in supporting startups and fostering collaboration.
• Dr. Abha Rishi, MP Startup Centre: Incubators are the beating heart of the startup ecosystem, crucial for sustainable innovation.

Broader Context

• AIM Reach: Over 100 incubators and nearly 50,000 Atal Tinkering Labs across India
• Startup Growth: From 350 startups to over 200,000, generating 21,000+ jobs
• National Priorities: Focus on bio-manufacturing, biotechnology, DeepTech, aligned with Viksit Bharat vision

Significance

• Strengthens regional innovation ecosystems in Central India
• Builds state-level incubator alliances for sustained collaboration
• Positions incubators as engines of entrepreneurship and innovation-driven growth

Key Stakeholders Present

Name	Designation	Organization
Deepak Bagla	Mission Director	Atal Innovation Mission
Himanshu Rai	Director	IIM Indore
Viraj Bhanage	Director	RRCAT / AIC π-Hub
Dr. Abha Rishi	Executive Head	Madhya Pradesh Startup Centre
Sandeep Gupta	Director	CFA Institute India

In essence, AIM SUMVAAD – Central India Edition has emerged as a powerful platform for knowledge exchange, policy dialogue, and collaborative action, reinforcing India’s commitment to nurturing startups and innovation-led development.

Startup Odisha Empowers Incubators to Strengthen the State's Startup Ecosystem

Startup Odisha conducted a two-day capacity-building session for existing and aspiring incubators.

The event featured a distinguished lineup of speakers and thought leaders.

Startup Odisha, an initiative of the MSME Department of the Government of Odisha has conducted a two-day capacity-building session for existing and aspiring incubators in its continuous effort to foster entrepreneurship and innovation. The event aimed to facilitate discussions on best practices, underscore the pivotal role of incubators in the startup ecosystem, and advance the vision of establishing a minimum of one incubator in each of Odisha's 30 districts.

With 27 incubators currently under its umbrella, Startup Odisha is committed to nurturing a thriving startup ecosystem in the state. The capacity-building session featured prominent speakers and thought leaders who shared insights into various aspects of incubation and its vital role in supporting startups. Notable speakers included Dr. Omkar Rai, Executive Chairman of Startup Odisha, who delivered an inspiring keynote address, highlighting the significant strides made by Startup Odisha in promoting entrepreneurship in the state. Mr. Uday Wankawala, CEO of AIC-RMP, discussed the incubation ecosystem's pivotal role in nurturing and scaling startups, while representatives from the Startup India Team provided insights into government initiatives supporting the incubation ecosystem.

Dr. Omkar Rai, Executive Chairman of Startup Odisha, said, “This capacity-building session has been instrumental in providing a vital platform for incubators to not only share their invaluable experiences but also to glean insights from industry experts. It has fostered discussions on strategies aimed at fortifying Odisha's startup ecosystem. Such collaborative efforts are pivotal in nurturing the innovation-driven growth of startups in our state."

The session also featured successful startup founders, Abhishek Gautam of Ambula Technologies, Sriman Rabishankar Dash of GauravGo Games, and Paritosh Anand of Vatsalya Wellness, who shared their experiences, showcasing the vital role played by incubators in their entrepreneurial journeys. Mr. Chintan Bakshi, Partner at CIIE-IIM Ahmedabad, emphasized the importance of industry-academia collaboration for fostering innovation and entrepreneurship, and Mr. S. Santhosh, Head of Operations at Crescent Innovation and Incubation Council, provided insights into leveraging educational institutions' resources to promote innovation.

As Odisha marches towards its mission of 5000 Startups by 2025, Startup Odisha remains committed to its mission of fostering innovation, supporting startups, and driving economic growth in the state. The success of this capacity-building session marks another milestone in its journey towards realizing this vision.

About Startup Odisha

Startup Odisha under the MSME Dept. Govt. of Odisha as the Nodal agency for building the startup and innovation ecosystem in the state, came into existence in 2016 with Odisha Startup Policy-2016. The vision is to introduce a holistic and inclusive ecosystem for the existing and aspiring startups, establish itself as one of the top startup hubs in the country, and enable the youth of Odisha to become Job-Creators and support the state in employment generation. With the unique support system under the Odisha Startup Policy 2016, Startup Odisha has supported Women/SC/ST/PH/Transgenders-led startups/ entrepreneurs by providing them with financial grants, subsidized incubation and exposure in participating in various national and international events. Since its inception, Startup Odisha has been home to the best entrepreneurial minds & has already supported and facilitated more than 1700+ Startups, with 600+ startups led by women directors, founders and co-founders. It houses the facilities and services ranging from a world-class infrastructure with state of an art facility called O Hub to the best Incubation facility supported by a proactive team, the aim is to take a leap for registering a minimum of another 5000 startups with recognition by 2025. Startup Odisha has been continuously evolving in its Policy measures, always ensuring to have a responsive policy framework. We have been the top performing Startup Hubs for three consecutive years in the country.

DPIIT, along with Villgro, Announce 25 Selected Incubators for the National Incubator Capacity Development Program

• Villgro will commence their 3-month-long National Incubator Capacity Development Program with 25 incubators.
• Leading experts and industry stalwarts will provide intensive mentorship and advisory support to the incubators.
• The program adopts a cohort-based hybrid approach which includes expert-led virtual and physical sessions, exposure to national and international best practices, and donor networking
• The program aims to build sustainable incubators and create an enabling ecosystem for entrepreneurs to thrive.

The National Incubator Capacity Development Program, by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has announced the selection of the Top-25 incubators that will go through an intensive 3-month mentorship, advisory, and capacity-building program. The initiative, in association with Villgro, is part of the Start-up India campaign. It is dedicated to nurturing social startups and entrepreneurs and propelling the rapid expansion of India's thriving startup ecosystem.

The program, over a period of 12 weeks, adopts a cohort-based hybrid approach to enhance the skills and abilities of the incubators. It includes a comprehensive set of self-learning modules, virtual and physical boot camps, exposure visits, and customized learning for incubator heads and sessions dedicated to efficiently managing the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS). These sessions will be provided by a distinguished group of incubator business advisors, including PR Ganapathy, Chand Das, Rama Kannan, Sandeep Jain, etc.

Additionally, participants will gain access to VITALS (Villgro Information Tracking and Learning System), a technology-based information system designed to track enterprise incubation progress.

Speaking about the program, Srinivas Ramanujam, CEO of Villgro, said, "Incubators play a pivotal role in nurturing social enterprises and transforming India's vibrant startup ecosystem. Over the last 22 years, we have observed this first-hand and have been perfecting our incubation model. We aim to strengthen the capacity of the incubators by sharing our expertise and wide networks through intensive mentorship and advisory support. We hope to catalyze their growth and create a thriving ecosystem for social innovation.”

“The National Incubator Capacity Building Program is launched to help build quality incubators across the country with an emphasis towards Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and encourage cross-learning from larger cities and lighthouse incubators to address the needs of startups building for Bharat. The training program with industry veterans and experts will provide valuable insights and expertise that will be instrumental in shaping the dynamic cohort of 25 incubators, empowering them with the necessary support and mentorship to create an enabling ecosystem for entrepreneurs to flourish,” said Prashanth Prakash, Member of the National Startup Advisory Council and Partner at Accel.

Given the presence of over 99,000+ DPIIT-recognized startups nationwide, coupled with hundreds of incubators across the country, the imperative to establish and bolster new incubators has become paramount. However, there remains a limited level of training, sensitization, and knowledge building for new incubator managers and their teams, especially in emerging cities and beyond India's metros. The National Incubator Capacity Development Program seeks to bridge this gap by providing hands-on training and growth hacks for incubators to ensure their sustainability.

The Startup India Platform hosted a call for applications, inviting incubators from all over India to participate, that attracted 83 applications. After initial screening, the jury panel, comprising experts from various industries, conducted a rigorous evaluation of Top-35 applications. Out of these, 25 exceptional incubators were selected to be part of the program. The final incubator cohort support startups from diverse sectors, including Women Entrepreneurship, Education, Mobility, Agriculture, Rural Innnovations, and Climate Action among many others. The 25 incubators participating in the Incubating Incubator program are —

1. Pilani Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Society,
2. AIC ADT Baramati Foundation,
3. AIC - SKU Confederation,
4. AIC BV Foundation,
5. AIC Raise Foundation,
6. BSC BioNEST Bio-Incubator,
7. RCB Faridabad,
8. Agri Business Incubation Foundation,
9. IIT Kharagpur,
10. IIMV Foundation for Incubation Entrepreneurial Learning and Development,
11. AIC-JKLU (Atal Incubation Center-JK Lakshmipat University),
12. Crescent Innovation and Incubation Council,
13. MOTION CoE, AIC-RNTU Foundation,
14. EdVenture Incubation Foundation,
15. AIC BAMU Foundation,
16. IIT Bhubaneswar Research And Entrepreneurship Park,
17. AIC Banasthali Vidyapith Foundation,
18. AICNIFTTEA Incubation Centre,
19. PDEU Innovation and Incubation Centre,
20. ANGRAU R Agri Business Incubator,
21. FOUNDATION FOR CfHE,
22. K L Technology Incubators Foundation,
23. Centre for Incubation and Business Acceleration, 
24. BioNEST-BHU InnoResTech Foundation,
25. IIM Kashipur Foundation for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Development, STEP (Shakti-The Empathy Project).

The National Incubator Capacity Development Program represents a significant milestone in the development of India's startup ecosystem. NICDP will empower and equip a pathway to the incubators' sustainability. By empowering incubators with the necessary knowledge and resources, the program also aims to foster an environment conducive to innovation, job creation, and social impact. 

T-Hub Emerges as the Winner of National Technology Award for Best Technology Business Incubator

T-Hub's outstanding contribution to techno-entrepreneurship is recognised with a National Technology Award.

National Technology Awards acknowledge pioneering innovations and technological advancements in India.

T-Hub, India's leading innovation hub and ecosystem enabler has been declared the recipient of the esteemed National Technology Award for Best Technology Business Incubator. The award, presented as part of the National Technology Week 2023, recognises T-Hub's exceptional contribution to the promotion of techno-entrepreneurship development and the establishment of innovative, technology-driven startup enterprises in various technological domains.

The National Technology Awards, organised by the Technology Development Board (TDB), a statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, aims to acknowledge and reward Indian companies that have successfully commercialised indigenous innovative technologies. These awards, presented under five distinct categories—Main, MSME, Startup, Translational Research and Technology Business Incubator—provide a platform for the recognition of Indian industries and their technology providers who contribute to the vision of "Aatma Nirbhar Bharat" by fostering innovation and bringing new ideas to the market.

Mahankali Srinivas Rao (MSR), CEO, T-Hub said, "We are honoured to receive the National Technology Award for Best Technology Business Incubator.The recognition validates our unwavering commitment to fostering innovation and empowering startups to thrive. We are profoundly grateful to the Telangana government for their invaluable support, which has been instrumental in our journey. T-Hub's success is a testament to the collective efforts of our team and the invaluable partnerships we have forged with global and national corporate entities. We extend our gratitude to the Department of Science and Technology for this prestigious accolade."

T-Hub's win in the Technology Business Incubator category highlights its outstanding dedication to nurturing the growth of startups through its robust ecosystem. The incubator has played a pivotal role in the development of India's startup landscape, enabling startups to raise an impressive USD 1.9 billion in funding. T-Hub's extensive market connects, totalling over 3000, have helped startups gain a strong foothold in their respective industries, resulting in the creation of over 12,000 jobs. T-Hub has impacted more than 2500 startups, providing them with mentorship and support to scale their businesses through its comprehensive programs and initiatives.

ABOUT T-HUB

T-Hub (Technology Hub) is an innovation hub and ecosystem enabler. Based in Hyderabad, India, T-Hub leads India’s pioneering innovation ecosystem. With a mission of enabling and empowering an ecosystem hungry for innovation, T-Hub is creating impact for startups, corporations and other innovation ecosystem stakeholders. Incorporated in 2015, it has provided over 1800 national and international startups with access to better technology, talent, mentors, customers, corporates, investors and government agencies. It has elevated innovation for leading national and global corporations, transforming their business models for the better. Working in collaboration with innovation partners and enablers in Telangana, India and worldwide, T-Hub is building a future-ready innovation ecosystem.

iCreate Hosts 35 Incubators a 3-day ISBA Conference to Discuss the Growth of Incubation Centres in India

iCreate hosts 35 incubators for a three-day ISBA conference to discuss the growth of incubation centres in India. 

Participants learnt the essence of brand building, managing and growing of an incubation centre

iCreate (International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology), Indiaʼs leading tech innovation-based start-up incubator in association with ISBA (Indian STEPs & Business Incubators Association) hosted a 3 day capacity building programme from 13-15th October at its campus with 35 incubators from across the country. CEOs and Incubation Managers of ISBA’s member incubators underwent an intense training to understand strategies for incubation growth and stakeholder management under the ISBALEARNX program. Incubation experts from across the country were invited to lead these sessions.

Addressing the crowd, Mr. Avinash Punekar, CEO, iCreate said, “The last 5 years have witnessed significant development in India’s entrepreneurial landscape as the number of recognised startups in the country has increased manifold. This clearly explains the prowess of Indian inventors and the reason for growing investor confidence in Indian startups and therefore the need for development and growth of incubators in the country. We are grateful to be associated with an organization like ISBA that has been supporting us and has been at the forefront of assisting incubators and startups with different frameworks and actively engaging with State and Central Government for various policies. We are delighted and privileged to have the support of some of the most distinguished organizations in the country. Together with ISBA, we look forward to developing a stronger incubation culture in India and work on the mutual mission of making India the start-up hub of the World."

In an effort to focus energies on objectives like brand management and growth strategies for their incubation centers, the congregation saw participation from leading incubators like National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli; Pilani Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Society; Science and Technology Park, Pune, Vellore Institute of Technology; SINE, IIT Bombay; IIT Mandi Catalyst and COEP's Bhau Institute of Innovation Entrepreneurship and Lead to name a few.

Extending his gratitude Mr. Prasad Menon, Vice President ISBA and CEO, CIBA said, “ I express my heartfelt appreciation to iCreate for organizing and conducting an event of this stature. Being one of the leading incubators of India, we have known iCreate for its commitment in promoting growth and entrepreneurial energies in the country and are proud to be associated with them. Incubators globally have become an ecosystem with an array of initiatives that support the economy leading the way in improving our global position as a start-up hub. ISBA aims to build awareness about the value an incubator adds to the industry and with this conference we see a commitment to our vision of transforming the incubator ecosystem in India. ISBA has been conducting such capacity building programs for more than a decade now. More than 1000 Incubation managers have benefited from such learning programs. Having partners and members like iCreate in our family, we are certain that we will successfully achieve our mission to build a conducive incubation ecosystem by bringing together various industry stakeholders”.

About iCreate

Winner of the National Award for Technology Business Incubator 2020, iCreate (International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology) is an autonomous centre of excellence of the Government of Gujarat and is India’s largest institution for transforming start-ups based on tech innovation into successful businesses. Located in a state-of-the-art 40-acre campus at Dev Dholera in Ahmedabad, to date it has supported over 529 innovations and 44 patents with a ‘high-touch, entrepreneur first model, connecting them with mentors, markets and money. Embedded systems and IoT are a focus area for iCreate, in domains like electric vehicles, agritech, smart cities, healthtech, industrial automation, and renewable energy, among others. It is home to Cisco's largest Innovation Lab in India and has partnerships with leading institutions in the US, Israel and other countries. It has a strategic partnership with CSIR, India's apex organisation for science and technology, and with leading institutions across the world.

About ISBA

ISBA was started a decade ago (2004), by a small motley crowd of Science & Technology Entrepreneur Parks and Technology Business Incubators that were established under the umbrella of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India. Today it has grown to a membership base of 100+ incubators that are into entrepreneurship development custom writing here and incubation.

ISBA is registered as a not-for-profit Society under the Societies Registration Act 1860. Its main objective is “To promote business incubation activities in the country through exchange of information, sharing of experience, and other networking assistance among Indian Business Incubators (TBIs), Science and Technology Entrepreneurs Parks (STEPs) and other related organizations engaged in the promotion of start-up enterprises. "

Delhi To have India's First International Incubator for Clean Energy Entrepreneurs & Innovation

India will soon have its first international incubator coming up in capital city of Delhi. The incubator will be set up to promote innovation in the field of clean energy and stimulate research, innovation, and entrepreneurship for the global initiative on clean energy, announced India's Union science & technology minister Harsh Vardhan.

With a total investment of around $5 million, the incubator is being set up in a public-private partnership and will promote entrepreneurship and innovations in the area of clean energy and provide opportunities to innovators across the Mission Innovation countries to test their technologies in the local market.

Mission Innovation (MI) is a global initiative of 22 countries and the European Union to dramatically accelerate global clean energy innovation. As part of the initiative, participating countries have committed to seek to double their governments’ clean energy research and development (R&D) investments over five years, while encouraging greater levels of private sector investment in transformative clean energy technologies.

"We, as part of the ‘Mission Innovation’ country, are setting up an international level incubator in Delhi. Stakeholders from across the world will come here and work in the field of clean energy innovation,” said Harsh Vardhan.

Notably, India is a key participant in the global initiative on clean energy research and is one of the three countries responsible for crystallizing the idea of global initiative to accelerate the pace of innovation and make clean energy widely affordable, which culminated in Mission Innovation.

“We have already announced $10 million for smart grid innovations and another $5 million for biofuels innovation as part of our commitments to promote clean energy.”, said Vardhan.

Earlier, India has also launched the joint ‘virtual clean energy centre’ with the UK and the joint ‘clean energy research and development centre on energy storage and smart grids’ with the US.

Besides, India's Department of Science and Technology is setting up a clean energy centre for integration of intermittent renewables with suitable energy storage in on grid or off grid situations.

To recall, Delhi government had too announced to launch startup incubator in lines of T-Hub, an India's largest startup incubator to date.

Source - Times of India

[Top Image - DisruptorDaily.com]

Delhi To have India's First International Incubator for Clean Energy Entrepreneurs & Innovation

India will soon have its first international incubator coming up in capital city of Delhi. The incubator will be set up to promote innovation in the field of clean energy and stimulate research, innovation, and entrepreneurship for the global initiative on clean energy, announced India's Union science & technology minister Harsh Vardhan.

With a total investment of around $5 million, the incubator is being set up in a public-private partnership and will promote entrepreneurship and innovations in the area of clean energy and provide opportunities to innovators across the Mission Innovation countries to test their technologies in the local market.

Mission Innovation (MI) is a global initiative of 22 countries and the European Union to dramatically accelerate global clean energy innovation. As part of the initiative, participating countries have committed to seek to double their governments’ clean energy research and development (R&D) investments over five years, while encouraging greater levels of private sector investment in transformative clean energy technologies.

"We, as part of the ‘Mission Innovation’ country, are setting up an international level incubator in Delhi. Stakeholders from across the world will come here and work in the field of clean energy innovation,” said Harsh Vardhan.

Notably, India is a key participant in the global initiative on clean energy research and is one of the three countries responsible for crystallizing the idea of global initiative to accelerate the pace of innovation and make clean energy widely affordable, which culminated in Mission Innovation.

“We have already announced $10 million for smart grid innovations and another $5 million for biofuels innovation as part of our commitments to promote clean energy.”, said Vardhan.

Earlier, India has also launched the joint ‘virtual clean energy centre’ with the UK and the joint ‘clean energy research and development centre on energy storage and smart grids’ with the US.

Besides, India's Department of Science and Technology is setting up a clean energy centre for integration of intermittent renewables with suitable energy storage in on grid or off grid situations.

To recall, Delhi government had too announced to launch startup incubator in lines of T-Hub, an India's largest startup incubator to date.

Source - Times of India

[Top Image - DisruptorDaily.com]

7 Newly Launched (in Last One Year) Startup Incubators in India You Should Know About

Incubators are key stakeholder in the startup ecosystem of any country. According to the "Fuelling Entrepreneurship" report published by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), there were 68 technology business incubators, 38 business accelerators/incubators in the country as of 2014. In addition, according to the recently released Start-up India Action Plan, 35 new incubators are planned to be set up on a PPP basis and 50 new bio-incubators are planned to be established though the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).

Below are seven startup/ business incubators recently launched in India, in last one year.

Nvidia Inception Programme

American technology firm Nvidia's Inception is a virtual incubator program to support startups with revolutionary ideas in Artificial Inttelligence (AI) and Data Science. It helps members during critical stages of product development, prototyping, and deployment.

Support/ Grants - Selected startups will receive a custom set of benefits, from hardware grants and marketing support to access to the latest Nvidia deep learning technologies and training with deep learning experts.

Satoshi Studios

New Delhi

Launched in December 2016, Satoshi Studios is South East Asia's first blockchain incubator backed by a bitcoin company, GBMiners. It has a 3-month intensive residence program in New Delhi for startups from south-east Asia region.

Support - Selected startups will get 50,000 USD in funding for 8%-15% equity in the company.

thinQbate

Mumbai

Launched in October 2016, ThinQbate is a community-based startup incubator with a focus on giving individuals the autonomy and resources to grow. The idea is to let the entrepreneur focus on their core product, while the incubator will help them with everything else.

Support - Coworking space with facilities like desks with high bandwidth WiFi access, conference rooms, printers, cafe, relaxation zones and potential funding.

UDGAM

Delhi

Launched in September 2016 by Jagan Institute of Management Studies Founder Manish Gupta UDGAM is a business incubator which aims to nurture fifty early stage startups across Delhi and Jaipur. The selected startups are given an opportunity to be a part of Udgam's Incubation Program at Gurugram and Jaipur for six months, to be a part of an Entrepreneurship course of six weeks and also be provided financial support through seed-funding.

Support/ Grants - Office space, assistance in marketing, networking, logistics, mentoring and recruitment and capital funding.

Plugin by Intel

Bengaluru & Mumbai

Jointly organized by Govt. of India's Department of Science & Technology and SINE of IIT-Bombay, Plugin is a one-of-its-kind incubation program exclusively for hardware startups in India. It provides incubation support for hardware & system startups in India with a focus on moving from proof of concept to final product that can be taken to market.

Support - Upfront cash support of 10 lakhs per startup and an additional 10 lakhs of equity/convertible equity funding will be offered to each team during the program.The selected startups will also get access to Intel India Maker Lab in Bengaluru & SINE facilities in Mumbai.

[box]View/ Search Complete List of Startup Incubators in India[/box]

Business Incubator Program by National Instruments

Bengaluru

Launched in April 2016, National Instruments India's Business Incubator Program aims to provide increased access to its technology, technical training and support to shared local communities like domestic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), academic incubation centers and startups.

ISEED by IRMA

Vadodra, Gujarat

Launched in August 2016, The Incubator for Social Enterprises and Entrepreneurs for Development (ISEED) at Institute for Rural Management Anand (IRMA) is an incubator specifically for development of rural people through professional management that is why it focus on startups working in agriculture and allied practices. The three verticals of ISEED are:
1. Agriculture and small agribusiness
2. Sustainable habitats and sanitation
3. Servicing rural India covering rural tourism, clean energy, education and ICT.

Support/ Grants - The incubators offers its incubatees a nurturing and empathetic entrepreneurial ecosystem through mentoring and networking support, collaborative research, entrepreneurship training and capacity building.

[Top-most Image - Shutterstock]

President To Launch T-Works, A Startup Incubator for Hardware Industry

The Telangana Government has decided to send a formal request to President Pranab Mukherjee to grace the launch of the state's startup incubator for hardware industry called T-Works. The event is scheduled to take place next month in the recently christened 29th state of the country.

T-Works is a startup incubator created on the same lines as T-Hub, but for the hardware industry. The whole setup is being built on a large in Telangana's much-famous university, Osmania University.

According to a statement given by Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of IT, "T-Works on the lines of T-Hub for Hardware, a large setup will come up in Osmania University and we are requesting the President Pranab Mukherjee to launch it during the Centenary Celebrations of the University next month."

He further added, that the large setup will work as a prototyping centre for electronics, semiconductors and hardware startups and provide young talents a platform to succeed.

The incubator will boost of machinery and equipment that will be able to cater the needs of different types of hardware requirements, especially Internet of Thing (IoT) hardware and electronic hardware. It will also come stocked with sophisticated machinery, testing labs and the startups will be able to use them as a common facility.

According to Ranjan, a startup will be able to book the equipment and use it for a specific period of time. They will be required to pay a user fee for the time the equipment is used.

The state Government has plans of investing a whopping Rs. 35-40 crores for all the equipment needs of T-Works.

Speaking at the National Conference on 'Inno Vision in Packaging' organised by Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP), Ranjan shared that the idea of T-Works came to him and his team when they paid a visit to iHub, which is the innovation hub in United States' California. T-Works will be adopting a similar model to iHub in Hyderabad.

T-Works functioning will be on the similar lines as T-Hub and will have a professional CEO and COO. A board will also be constituted to oversee the working of T-Works and will have both industry representatives and government representatives on it.

Mumbai To Get Its First Startup Incubator By Municipal Corporation

In an effort to woo youngsters in Mumbai, Shiv Sena, the ruling party in the BMC, has announced about its plans to set up its very first Startup incubator in Mumbai. According to them, the aim behind the move is to encourage more and more startups and entrepreneurs from the city of dreams.

The announcement was made by Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray in a series of tweets recently.

"The BMC will be setting up its first Start Up incubator in Mumbai very soon to encourage more start ups from Mumbai to pursue their dreams," read one tweet.

He followed the announcement tweet by another stating, "Mumbai has been a city to follow its dreams, support dreams. BMC incubator will make available spaces extremely affordable to startups."

It's interesting to note that the announcement came just a few days ahead of the civic elections.

According to information available, the BMC administration has already zeroed on a building at Chakala in Andheri for the incubator. The building will be completely revamped and converted into an office space for 50 to 100 emerging entrepreneurs. The Andheri space, which has been reserved for the welfare centre, boosts of a parking space on the stilt, while its first floor has a hall and several airy rooms. Since the budding entrepreneurs will have to meet a number of investors, mentors, and other important people on a daily basis, BMC has decided to convert the hall in the building into a beautiful conference room, which will be allotted to people on advance booking.

The budding entrepreneurs will be made available with small offices at a nominal rate for a period of six months. When there six months at the incubator are over, they will have to vacate the space for other applicants.

According to sources, the BMC is looking to complete the building and start the incubator before the civic elections go live. Apart from the Andheri one, they also plan to start more startup incubators in other parts of the city very soon.

The BMC is going to release more details about the policy very soon. It has brought in several prominent startup specialists on its panel to provide them a helping hand in rolling out the incubator.