Women-Led Startups to Propel India onto Global Stage: Dr. Jitendra Singh

New Delhi: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Dr. Jitendra Singh expressed confidence today that women-led startups will play a pivotal role in placing India on the global innovation map in the coming years. His remarks came during the virtual inauguration of eight new NIDHI Inclusive Technology Business Incubators (i-TBIs) across India, alongside the launch of the DST-NIDHI website at IIT Delhi. The event marked the celebration of eight years of the Department of Science and Technology’s (DST) National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI).

The newly established i-TBIs are located in institutions across the country, including the Central University of Rajasthan (Ajmer), Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (Ludhiana), BLDE (Bijapur), Aligarh Muslim University, Pranveer Singh Institute of Technology (Kanpur), Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya (Bilaspur), GSSS Institute of Engineering and Technology for Women (Mysore), and the University of Petroleum & Energy Studies (Dehradun). These incubators aim to foster innovation and entrepreneurship among students, faculty, entrepreneurs, and local communities, particularly in Tier II and Tier III cities.

In his address, Dr. Singh emphasized that the NIDHI initiative, launched in 2016 as part of Prime Minister Modi’s Startup India Standup India campaign, was developed to bridge the gap between academic research and industry. “Our academic institutions were producing world-class research, but there was a critical need to translate these ideas into market-ready products,” Dr. Singh explained. He highlighted the importance of early industry linkages for startups, particularly in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and new energy technologies.

The minister also launched the DST-GDC IIT Madras INCUBATE program, which is focused on supporting deep-tech startups. The initiative has received funding from prominent IIT Madras alumni, including Dr. Gururaj Deshpande, Jaishree Deshpande, and Kris Gopalakrishnan.

Reflecting on the success of DST’s NIDHI program over the past eight years, Dr. Singh pointed out its pivotal role in nurturing a vast number of technology startups, with a significant number of these led by women entrepreneurs. He emphasized that these ventures have created numerous jobs and fostered a culture of innovation that has generated a substantial amount of intellectual property, contributing to India’s economic growth and self-reliance.

He reaffirmed that the government is committed to empowering women entrepreneurs and ensuring financial inclusion, with women-led startups set to lead the charge across various sectors.