Principal Scientific Adviser says incubation centres must pivot towards supporting deep-tech startups to help India emerge as a product

Principal Scientific Adviser Professor Ajay Sood today said that incubation centres must pivot towards supporting deep-tech startups to help India emerge as a product-driven economy. He said this while addressing the Atal Innovation Mission programme in New Delhi. Professor Sood noted that incubation and intermediary organisations act as a crucial bridge between laboratory research and market value creation by providing mentorship, market access and patient capital to innovators.
He underlined that the country has more than one thousand one hundred incubators, with many located beyond Tier one cities, expanding access to innovation support. Professor Sood further highlighted that the nation has more than one lakh seventy thousand startups as per Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. Professor Sood also noted the recently announced Research, Development and Innovation Fund for the private sector. He said incubators should act as docking stations for advanced technologies in sectors such as health,energy, space and emerging technologies.
Speaking on the occasion, Department of Biotechnology Secretary Rajesh Gokhale said the strengthening of the innovation ecosystem in biotechnology is critical for translating research into affordable and scalable solutions. He added that the focus must now shift from startup creation to enabling scale-up, particularly in biotechnology. Mr Gokhale further emphasised the need for closer collaboration between research institutions, startups and industry to accelerate technology development and enhance the country’s capabilities in biotechnology and life sciences. NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery and Chief Executive Officer B. V. R. Subrahmanyam were also present on the occasion.