NITI Aayog conclave boosts south India’s innovation ecosystem

The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), under NITI Aayog, hosted the Annual AIM Incubator Conclave – AIM SUMVAAD (Regional Samvaad – South India) at Mahadevapura near Whitefield, bringing together key stakeholders from Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, and Puducherry.

The conclave saw participation from AIM-supported incubators (AICs & ACICs), state startup missions, industry leaders, academia, and policymakers to strengthen regional collaboration and innovation ecosystems.

Dr. Deepak Bagla, Managing Director of the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), called upon people to make the best use of the golden scheme implemented under NITI Aayog to promote self-employment and talent-driven innovative entrepreneurship in the country. The objective of this scheme is to provide training in various subjects, especially in technology-driven fields, to interested students, the unemployed, homemakers, and women’s self-help groups (Stree Shakti Sanghas) to create self-employment and provide them with financial and marketing support; furthermore, AIM will stand by startup businesses to help them manage the challenges they face.

He stated that the Government of India has implemented this significant project and urged everyone to take advantage of it. This regional conference featured dialogues on strategies for strengthening innovation ecosystems and promoting entrepreneurship across Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Puducherry, as well as the role of incubators in academic and non-academic fields and networking with ecosystem enablers.

On this occasion, AIC-CDIIC CEO Dr. B. Vinod Kumar, Dr. Senthil Kumar, Dr. Pervez Alam, Shivaraj Ramanathan, Dr. Uma Maheshwari, Amrita Pradeep Raj, Dr. Veeranna, and others were present.