Andhra University to get technology business incubator from DST

Visakhapatnam: Based on the recommendations made by the National Expert Advisory Committee (NEAC), the Department of Science and Technology (DST) informed that the Andhra University will set up an inclusive Technology Business Incubator (i-TBI) at a cost of Rs 5 crore.

The facility will be established under the NIDHI i-TBI programme at the varsity campus subject to compliance of certain project implementation conditions for establishing the i-TBI in AU Engineering College.

The grant will be facilitated for establishing the incubation lab, working space, manpower costs, organising training programmes, mentoring of the startups.

The most important component of the grant is providing ignition grants up to Rs 10 lakh to the startup companies which would encourage entrepreneurs to pitch in fresh ideas.

Expressing their views over the development, Vice Chancellor of AU PVGD Prasad Reddy and Registrar V Krishna Mohan said such a facility would further boost the efforts of Andhra University in strengthening the startup ecosystem on the campus.

Later, they lauded the efforts of principal investigator Hanumanthu Purushotham, DPIIT-IPR Chair Professor, Ravi Eswarapu, CEO of AU Incubation Hub, Prof K Venkata Subbaiah, Head Mechanical Engineering and P. Mallikarjana Rao, Head Electrical Engineering Department of AUCE for drafting the proposal and getting the approval for the project amid stiff competition at the national level. The principal investigator said it will help connect the university to the innovation and startup ecosystem at national level.

The approval letter was handed over by the VC to the project implementation team.