STPI to launch incubator to promote research, startups in health tech

The Lucknow-based hub will nurture 50 start-ups over 5 years

Amid the priority accorded to attaining self reliance in medical infra and consumables in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) will launch an incubator, MedTech, in Lucknow to promote research and startups in the fields of medical electronics and health informatics.

Spread over a built-up area of 18,000 sq ft, the Centre of Excellence (CoE) costing Rs 22 crore will nurture 50 startups over a period of five years.

It will also facilitate R&D in medical and health domains, while facilitating an entrepreneurial ecosystem to promote innovation in affordable, high-quality indigenous medical products, drive employment and contribute to the economy.

To be soft launched virtually on Friday, MedTech is being set up by the STPI in collaboration with the Lucknow-based super specialty Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI), Uttar Pradesh department of IT & electronics, Association of Medical Device Industry (AiMED) & Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone (AMTZ).

STPI is an autonomous society under the Union Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY). The soft-launch will be done digitally by Jyoti Arora, special secretary and financial advisor, MeitY, and STPI director general Omkar Rai.

According to the press communique, the core objective of the CoE is to catalyse the transformation of the life sciences & healthcare industry for accelerated and sustained growth, to capture new business opportunities and markets, and to build solutions for real-world challenges through co-creation programmes.

“MedTech will build a robust ecosystem to harness emerging technologies, foster R&D and innovation and nurture startups in the field of medical equipment/electronics and healthcare informatics to contribute to Make in India, Startup India and Digital India initiatives while pushing the boundary of technologies in the healthcare domain,” Rai said.

STPI was established in 1991 to encourage, promote and boost software exports from India. STPI offers a wide range of services to the Indian IT industry, including statutory, datacom & incubation services.

Meanwhile, the exports by STPI-registered units in UP was to the tune of Rs 22,725 crore during the 2019-20 financial year. In UP, STPI has been functioning since 1992 and has expanded to three sub-centers in Lucknow, Kanpur, and Prayagraj. Four more STPI centres across the state are being developed at Meerut, Agra, Gorakhpur, and Varanasi in collaboration with the UP government.

Incubation services are also being provided to IT/ITES companies through these STPI centers. Under the India BPO Promotion Scheme of the Centre, 15 companies have established BPO centers at 9 different places in UP, through which the local youth of these cities are getting employment.

Lucknow has emerged as an IT hub posting Rs 200 crore of IT/ITES export within a short period of time. The city also boasts of national-level laboratories, premier medical colleges promoting focused research in biostatics and health informatics.