In a major boost to Delhi’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, the Incubation and Innovation Foundation (AIC-NSUT IIF) was inaugurated on Wednesday at the Netaji Subhas University of Technology (NSUT), Dwarka, by Education Minister Ashish Sood.
The Atal Incubation Centre, supported by a grant of Rs 10 crore from the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, aims to nurture technology-driven startups and help transform innovative ideas into scalable and sustainable businesses.
The centre operates from a 10,000 sq ft facility on the NSUT campus and is equipped with an AI Centre of Excellence, an IoT Centre of Excellence, co-working spaces, fabrication laboratories and a founders’ lounge.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by Mekala Chaitanya Prasad, IAS, District Magistrate, South West Delhi, along with representatives from AIM, NITI Aayog, startup founders, industry stakeholders and members of the academic community. Addressing the gathering, Sood highlighted the legacy behind the institution and spoke about India’s rapidly growing startup culture.
Expressing confidence in the potential of the country’s youth, the Minister called on young founders to build boldly, backed by the support of programmes such as NEEEV, Delhi AI Grind and the Delhi Startup Yuva Festival. He said the Government of NCT of Delhi had put these initiatives in place to ensure that no serious idea goes unsupported due to a lack of resources or guidance.
The Minister also underlined the inspiration drawn from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, whose vision led to the creation of the Atal Innovation Mission, which supports incubation centres across the country.
A major attraction of the event was the Startup Showcase and Innovation Walkthrough, where eleven startups presented their innovations before the Minister and other dignitaries. The participating startups included TelebortiX, GrannyDr, Quickgick, Zoffer, Mystique Dates, Upright Cane, NovaNik3DD, BrahmiVeda, Urverdure, Finobadi and SkyArt Innovations.
The startups represented a diverse range of sectors, including drone logistics, paediatric healthcare, artificial intelligence-powered hospitality solutions, Ayurvedic wellness, assistive technologies, advanced manufacturing, hydroponics and plant-based water purification systems.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof Anand Srivastava, Vice-Chancellor of NSUT and Chairman of AIC-NSUT IIF, said, “Today marks the beginning of a sustained institutional commitment to turning NSUT’s talent into founders who create employment and build for India.”
Prof Prerna Gaur, Founding Director of AIC-NSUT IIF, emphasised the centre’s inclusive approach to entrepreneurship.
She said, “The centre is built on the conviction that the best ideas in India deserve the best support, and that geography or institutional affiliation should never be a barrier to building something meaningful and real.”
The incubation centre has opened its doors to startups from across the country and is inviting applications from technology-enabled ventures working in HealthTech, DeepTech, Artificial Intelligence, BioTech, FoodTech, hardware and other emerging technology domains. Notably, startups will receive incubation support without any upfront fee or equity requirement.
Established as a Section 8 not-for-profit company, AIC-NSUT IIF will provide structured incubation support for up to 24 months, with the objective of helping entrepreneurs develop innovative products, generate employment opportunities and contribute to India’s growing startup ecosystem.