Union Minister Jitendra Singh feels women-led start-ups will give India a foothold in the global arena

Minister of State (I/C) Dr Jitendra Singh today said that women-led start-ups will take India to the global stage in the coming years.

The Minister was speaking after the virtual inauguration of eight new NIDHI i-TBI centres across India as well as the new DST-NIDHI website held at IIT Delhi on Friday, celebrating eight years of the Department of Science and Technology (DST-NIDHI) initiative.

Eight new NIDHI Inclusive TBI (i-TBIs0) centres have been set up at various locations across the country, namely: 1. Central University of Rajasthan, Ajmer, 2. Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, Punjab, 3. BLDE Bijapur, Karnataka, 4. Aligarh Muslim University, 5. Pranveer Singh Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, 6. Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya (Central University) in Bilaspur, 7. GSSS Institute of Engineering and Technology for Women, Mysore, Karnataka, 8. University of Petroleum & Energy Studies (UPES) in Dehradun.

i-TBIs (Inclusive TBI) is a three-year initiative supported by DST, designed for educational institutions that want to foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship among students, faculty, entrepreneurs and local communities.

Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Earth Sciences, MoS PMO, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated DST-GDC IIT Madras INCUBATE programme for deep technology startups.

GDC is funded by three distinguished IIT Madras alumni: Dr Gururaj Deshpande, Jaishree Deshpande and “Kris” Gopalakrishnan.

These initiatives aim to extend our support to innovators, primarily from Tier II and Tier III cities, and provide targeted assistance to start-ups in key growth phases.

Speaking at the inaugural function, Dr. Jitendra Singh recalled that Startup India, Stand up India was an initiative of Prime Minister Modi under which DST launched NIDHI in 2016.

Underlining the significance, he said, “NIDHI was a response to a critical need identified in India’s innovation ecosystem to bridge the gap between our academic institutions and industry. Since the institutes were doing world-class research, there was a need to translate these ideas into market-ready products.”

He also emphasized that startups’ connections with the industry play a key role in achieving success.

He believed that technological advancements in artificial intelligence, quantum computers and new energy have the potential to create innovations that can transform today’s Bharat into the Bharat of the future.

The Science and Technology Minister traced the history of the programme since its inception in 2016 and noted that the Nidhi DST programme has played a key role in strengthening the startup ecosystem and supporting a huge number of technology startups, a significant portion of which are led by women entrepreneurs.

Elaborating on the details, Singh said the programme offers a comprehensive phased support structure that is tailored to the unique dynamics of academia. Through initiatives like NIDHI Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) and NIDHI PRAYAS programmes.

Jitendra Singh added that these ventures have helped create a lot of jobs and fostered a culture of innovation, resulting in the generation of a significant amount of intellectual property.

Highlighting the significant economic success that reflects the impact of the programme on India’s growth and independence, Dr. Singh said, “The celebration of 8th anniversary of NIDHI underlines Prime Minister Modi’s commitment to empowering women entrepreneurs and expanding financial inclusion”

Highlighting India’s plan to become Viksit Bharat by 2047 and startups playing a key role in this journey, Dr. Singh said, “Prime Minister Modi has given a vision of Indian startups being at the forefront of the global innovation race and women-led startups being at the forefront across sectors. He also reiterated the Prime Minister’s quote that those startups that succeed in India will succeed elsewhere.

Dr Jitendra Singh emphasised that NIDHI ensures that intellectual activities are not confined to laboratories but reach out to the market, bringing about significant changes.

Dr Jitendra Singh encouraged all innovators to come together and make tangible contributions towards achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047.