Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday, 16 June 2026 highlighted four energy-sector startups supported by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) that featured at Bharat Innovates 2026, a high-profile deep-tech showcase jointly inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron. The event, described as a premier platform for innovation-led partnerships between Indian deep-tech innovators and global stakeholders, displayed 120 cutting-edge technologies developed by Indian startups and premier higher education institutions.

Context

Bharat Innovates 2026 brought together innovations spanning artificial intelligence, semiconductors, biotechnology, healthcare, energy, advanced manufacturing, mobility, and space technologies. The event's inauguration by both the Indian Prime Minister and the French President signals the strategic weight that India and France — long-standing partners since their strategic partnership of 1998 — are placing on deep-tech collaboration as a pillar of bilateral ties.

Minister Puri noted that the energy sector's presence at the international showcase was 'a matter of immense pride,' pointing specifically to four startups that have received backing through BPCL's startup initiatives, grant funding under Project Ankur, and research-and-development collaborations.

Policy Backdrop

India's push to position itself as a global deep-tech hub has roots in the Startup India initiative launched in 2016, which sought to build robust entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems. BPCL's Project Ankur represents the public-sector energy industry's contribution to that broader national agenda, channelling grant funding and R&D support toward startups working on next-generation energy and industrial solutions.

The four startups highlighted by Minister Puri each address distinct technological frontiers. Detect Technologies is advancing AI-powered industrial inspection and pipeline monitoring solutions aimed at improving operational efficiency and safety. Planys Technologies is developing deep-tech underwater robotics and structural inspection tools for critical infrastructure. UrjanovaC is driving carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) innovations that convert industrial emissions into valuable products. EyeROV is building remotely operated underwater vehicles for inspection, monitoring and maintenance applications.

Stakeholders and Impact

The participation of these four startups at an event co-inaugurated by the leaders of India and France provides them with significant international visibility and potential pathways to global partnerships and investment. For India's energy sector — dominated by large public-sector undertakings such as BPCL — the showcase underscores a shift toward embedding innovation and clean-tech within traditional hydrocarbon infrastructure.

The CCUS work by UrjanovaC is particularly relevant to India's long-term climate commitments, including its 2070 net-zero target. Underwater robotics and AI-based inspection technologies from Planys, EyeROV and Detect Technologies also have direct applications in maintaining the safety and efficiency of India's extensive pipeline and offshore energy networks.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to whether the international exposure at Bharat Innovates 2026 translates into concrete commercial deployments or joint R&D agreements — particularly between Indian energy startups and French industrial or technology partners. Follow-up announcements on India-France investment in deep-tech and clean energy, as well as the scaling of BPCL's Project Ankur grant programme, will be closely watched by industry stakeholders. The event reinforces a broader pattern of India leveraging strategic diplomatic moments to accelerate its domestic innovation ecosystem onto the global stage.