Bhopal-based Rabindranath Tagore University (RNTU) has launched Madhya Pradesh’s first Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) within an university campus. AIC-RNTU is supported by the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) under NITI Aayog, Government of India.

It has been launched with the aim of boosting the startup ecosystem in the country by providing access to state-of-the-art-infrastructure, fund support, management support, mentorship and relevant training to budding entrepreneurs. The Centre was inaugurated by His Excellency Mr Lalji Tandon, the Honorable Governor of Madhya Pradesh.

Talking about the need for AIC-RNTU, Mr Santosh Kumar Choubey, Chancellor, RNTU, said, “Around 90% Indian startups fail within the first five years of inception. With the establishment of AIC-RNTU in Bhopal, we are looking to transform the startup ecosystem in the country by playing the role of an incubator and an accelerator, to enable the startups from ideation to growth stage. It will not only play a crucial role in developing entrepreneurial mindset among the youngsters of the region but also help in creating long term financially sustainable solutions while generating employment opportunities.” Mr. Choubey also announced corpus fund of Rupees 1 cr for seed funding of startups of the region. 

AIC-RNTU will work towards nurturing innovative startup businesses to help them become scalable and sustainable enterprises. In its role as a startup incubator and accelerator, it will provide world-class incubation facilities with suitable infrastructure in terms of lab equipment and operating facilities, coupled with the availability of sectoral experts for mentoring the start-ups, business planning support, access to seed capital, industry partners, trainings and other relevant components required for encouraging innovative startups. Through this Centre, incubation programmes will be offered for three categories  – Ideate, Discover and Growth. The durations of the programmes will range from 8 to 12 months based on the category.