Women-led startups will take India global: Jitendra Singh

Women-led start-ups will give India a global presence in the coming years, Economic Affairs Minister Jitendra Singh said on Friday.

The Minister was speaking after virtually inaugurating eight new NIDHI i-TBI centres across India as well as the new DST-NIDHI website at IIT Delhi, celebrating the eighth anniversary 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.

Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Dr. Jitendra Singh recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s guidance for launching the NIDHI initiative by his ministry in 2016. “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 said.

The Minister traced the history of the programme since its inception in 2016 and noted that the NIDHI programme has been playing 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, Dr. 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.

Dr Jitendra Singh added that these ventures have helped create a lot of employment 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 economic growth and independence, he said, “The celebration of 8th anniversary of NIDHI underlines Prime Minister Modi’s commitment to empower women entrepreneurs and increase financial inclusion.”