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IDFC First Bank has partnered with the IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP) to launch a pan-India programme aimed at nurturing enterprises working on sustainable business solutions, officials said on Monday. The 'IGNITE' programme will provide total financial and operational support of Rs 2 crore, including a direct startup grant corpus of Rs 1.36 crore, they said. It aims to help early-stage ventures strengthen their business models, expand market reach, and deliver measurable environmental and social outcomes, according to an official statement. Under the programme, 16 startups from across the country will be selected through a competitive evaluation process, it said. The focus areas include green manufacturing, waste recycling and upcycling, cleantech, renewable energy, water management, environmental technologies, and the sustainable use of indigenous resources. The selected startups will undergo a structured incubation journey comprising business diagnostics, expert mentorin
Technology that succeeds under Indian conditions can often succeed anywhere in the world, but the challenge is that deep technology does not run on normal startup timelines, according to BITS Group Vice Chancellor Ramgopal Rao. In an interview with PTI, the renowned academician said India cannot become a global innovation hub merely by building more companies around technologies developed elsewhere. "We must build companies around science and intellectual property created in our own universities. India has two enormous advantages: talent and problems at scale. Both can become the basis for globally important companies," Rao said. He said India needs homegrown solutions in semiconductors, healthcare, agriculture, space, energy, water, advanced materials, artificial intelligence, defence and manufacturing. "A technology that succeeds under Indian conditions can often succeed anywhere in the world. The difficulty is that deep technology does not run on normal startup timelines," he t