New Delhi, Delhi, fifteenth of February, 2026 : Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology; Earth Sciences and Minister of State for PMO, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr. Jitendra Singh at this time visited the Immersive Technology and Entrepreneurship Labs (ITEL) Foundation at IIT Madras Research Park and numerous superior analysis amenities at IIT Madras, the place he reviewed ongoing initiatives spanning city mobility, house expertise, medical gadgets and mind analysis.
The Minister lauded the consortium pushed innovation mannequin pioneered by IIT Research Park, which allows fast and acceptable commercialisation of expertise. This mannequin is now being keenly picked up by different educational establishments and universities as properly, he mentioned.
The ITEL Foundation, a Section 8 not-for-profit entity recognised by the Department of Science and Technology and established in July 2024, is working to place India as a world expertise chief by nurturing deep-tech startups and constructing industry-academia consortia. The mannequin brings collectively educational establishments, {industry} leaders and traders to co-develop applied sciences and switch them on to the industrial sector.
Interacting with researchers and startup founders, Dr. Jitendra Singh mentioned the consortium strategy—the place {industry} participation begins on the growth stage—ensures that improvements are aligned with real-world wants. He noticed that such built-in working allows sooner translation of analysis outcomes into deployable options.
Among the important thing demonstrations was the HASHTIC mobility initiative, which seeks to handle extreme visitors congestion in Indian cities. The mission goals to make a 15-kilometre city commute doable in about 20 minutes by way of AI-enabled, small-format electrical mobility programs working on elevated tracks above present roads. The idea is designed to supply point-to-point connectivity in congested metropolitan areas, decreasing journey time and easing stress on street infrastructure. The workforce knowledgeable the Minister that the system is being developed particularly for Indian city situations, with a concentrate on affordability, scalability, and sustainability.
Dr. Jitendra Singh additionally reviewed the work of Agnikul Cosmo, a personal house expertise startup incubated inside the ecosystem. The firm builds launch automobiles designed to supply versatile and on-demand satellite tv for pc launches. On May 30, 2024, Agnikul efficiently launched its first mission with help from IN-SPACe and ISRO, demonstrating its core expertise. The firm is making ready to aim a industrial mission of its reusable rocket later this yr. Officials highlighted that such startups mirror the rising participation of personal gamers in India’s increasing house sector.
The Minister visited the IIT Madras Incubation Cell, which has incubated over 500 startups throughout domains together with climate-tech, healthcare, deep-tech and AI-driven options. The incubation cell gives mentorship, entry to laboratories, funding help, and {industry} networks, enabling startups to maneuver from prototype to market-ready merchandise.
At the Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre (HTIC), the Minister was briefed on the event of inexpensive, indigenous medical gadgets by way of collaborations involving round 40 medical establishments, {industry} companions and authorities businesses. Since its inception in 2011 with seed help from the Department of Biotechnology, HTIC has led to 12 commercially profitable Made-in-India merchandise which have reached greater than two crore sufferers in India and overseas. The centre focuses on addressing unmet medical wants and decreasing dependence on imported medical applied sciences.
The go to additionally included the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre, the place researchers are producing large-scale, cell-resolution digital 3D photographs of entire human brains. Officials knowledgeable the Minister that that is the primary time such intensive human mind picture knowledge at this decision has been generated in India. The Centre’s second trimester human fetalbrain atlas mission, titled “DHARANI”, has considerably superior mind mapping analysis and attracted collaboration from main worldwide establishments.
Dr. Jitendra Singh famous that these initiatives display how coordinated efforts amongst academia, {industry} and authorities can speed up expertise growth in areas immediately impacting residents—from city mobility and healthcare to house and neuroscience. He emphasised that linking analysis establishments with {industry} necessities from the outset strengthens India’s innovation ecosystem and enhances the nation’s capability to develop indigenous applied sciences aligned with nationwide priorities.
The go to concluded with interactions with college, researchers and entrepreneurs, with discussions specializing in scaling up profitable fashions and replicating such collaborative frameworks throughout different establishments within the nation.
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