New Delhi, April 26 (NationPress) Viksit Bharat will be propelled by start-ups and innovation, declared Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-Madras), on Saturday.

"Viksit Bharat in 2047 will certainly be driven by start-ups and innovation, and there is no doubt about it," Kamakoti informed IANS.

"We must own ideas and foster start-ups that create businesses with technical, economic, and social impact," he added.

He further highlighted that the institute has successfully incubated 104 new start-ups during the FY 2024-25.

The newly incubated start-ups span various high-impact deep-tech sectors, including manufacturing, robotics, automotive and batteries, materials and defence/aerospace; AI, ML, AR/VR, blockchain, quantum computing, analytics/SAAS and fintech; healthtech; biotech, pharma, nutraceuticals, agritech; and IoT, cyber-physical systems.

"The challenge of ‘Start-up Shatam’ (100 start-ups), aimed at incubating one start-up every third day, was initiated on April 1, 2024. I am pleased to announce that the Institute has successfully met this challenge with the incubation of 104 start-ups," remarked Kamakoti.

Notably, 52 percent of the 104 start-ups were established by members of IIT Madras—faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

The remaining 48 percent of start-ups were founded by external entrepreneurs.

Incubating over 100 start-ups in FY25 signifies a remarkable increase from the institute’s prior annual average of 60 start-ups.

Kamakoti pointed out that the institute also filed 417 patents during the 2024-25 Financial Year, averaging more than ‘one patent a day’.

The future goal is to promote the growth of ‘multinational’ start-ups.

"Looking ahead, the IIT Madras Incubation Cell aims to expand the start-up pipeline, accelerate the commercial success of existing incubated companies in India, and facilitate global market entry through strategic international partnerships. We will also welcome start-ups from areas like East Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, further strengthening IITM’s position in deep-tech innovation,” stated Dr. Tamaswati Ghosh, CEO of the IIT-M Incubation Cell.

Over the last 12 years, the IIT Madras Incubation Cell has supported 457 deep-tech start-ups, collectively valued at over ₹50,000 crore (based on funds raised from VCs), including two unicorns and one company nearing an IPO.

These start-ups cover a diverse array of crucial and emerging sectors, ranging from manufacturing and robotics to spacetech, aero/defence, AI, biotech, and IoT.