Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to the Government of India, Prof. Ajay K. Sood, visited the iCreate (International Centre of Entrepreneurship and Technology) campus in Ahmedabad to meet with the entrepreneurs and startups currently being incubated at the centre. During his visit, he interacted with the founders and offered his guidance and expertise to the start-ups who shared their ideas and experiences with him. Prof. Sood also held meetings with iCreate’s leadership including the CEO, Mr. Avinash Punekar to discuss ways in which technology innovation can be given an impetus in the country.
Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to the Government of India, Prof. Ajay K. Sood with iCreate CEO Mr. Avinash Punekar
iCreate, India’s leading innovation-based start-up incubator, is home to 530 promising startups that are developing breakthrough innovations in the fields of electric vehicles, technology, healthcare and agritech, among others.
Impressed by the passion and dedication of the startups incubated at iCreate, Prof. Ajay K. Sood said, “I am always intrigued by the ingenuity and determination of India’s startup ecosystem. The startups at iCreate are doing remarkable work, and I am confident they will make a significant contribution to the country’s development and growth. As India moves towards becoming a global innovation hub, it is essential to have institutes like iCreate that support the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovation. I look forward to iCreate’s plans of developing an EV supply chain portal and its plans to take EV technologies into the domains of aerospace and defence. We are happy to support iCreate in fostering the growth of entrepreneurship and innovation in the country.”
He also extended his greetings to the institution’s SoC42, an open-source platform for all Indian EV tech developers, including startups, and for its plan to launch various CoEs in energy technologies, agritech, aerospace, and defence.
Earlier this year, an agreement between CSIR and iCreate was signed to establish collaborative support to take the institute’s R&D work to the market including Lithium-ion and Sodium-ion battery technologies. He also insisted that the industry should participate in such initiatives through investments and CSR funding, and stated that this will help India achieve the required technological independence. Commenting on the CoE in Indigenization, Prof. Sood expressed that this initiative will provide much-needed R&D and product development support to MSMEs across the country and help promote industries and generate employment.
Prof. Ajay Sood’s visit is part of the Government of India’s ongoing efforts to support entrepreneurship and innovation in the country. In partnership with various incubation centres, the Government of India hopes to foster a culture of entrepreneurship and create new opportunities for economic growth and development.
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, it has supported over 530 innovations and 45 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, health tech, 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.
