CCMB to host Atal Incubation Centre

Hyderabad: The CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) here has been identified as one of the ten organisations in the country to host a Atal Incubation Centre to be supported by NITI Ayog. The initiative is part of the Atal Innovation Mission set up by Union government to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.

"Two years ago NITI Ayog had advertised this and more than 3,000 organisations had applied. Couple of days back, NITI Ayog announced their final result and only ten organisations have been given this incubation centre. CCMB is one of them," CCMB Director Rakesh K Mishra said here today.

NITI Ayog gives a grant of Rs 10 crore over a period of five years to the non-profit company set up by CCMB and the company should become self-sufficient beyond five years through private funding and other resources, he told PTI. "It is in our mission to do basic research and seek potential application of that research," Mishra said.

CCMB would offer its scientific expertise, facilities available with it (which would be difficult for start-ups to have) and also business management to the start-ups, he said. CCMB would also bring in investors on its board, Mishra said. "For a good idea, funding is not a problem," he added. CCMB would give a maximum time of three years to start-ups to prove themselves and their progress is evaluated every six months, according to Mishra.