IIT Kanpur announces 15 startups for DST's Nirman Accelerator Program

The Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC) of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur has announced the 2022 cohort of 15 startups in the health-tech and agri-tech domains for the Nirman Accelerator Program — a startup promoter backed by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), a division of the Union science and technology ministry. Selected by the institute's startup incubator, the finalists will be offered a six-month program to build their product and bring the same to the market.

According to a statement by IIT Kanpur, the six-month Nirman Accelerator Program will offer support for product growth, engineering, compliance with policies, and marketing the product to their respective markets. A total of 94 startups applied for the program, which was shortlisted to 35 by an internal committee. The final list comprises 15 startups across agri-tech and health-tech sectors.

The startups selected for the program include LCB Fertilizers, Saptkrishi Scientific, BomLife, Polycycling Solutions, Surobhi AgroIndustries, Primary Healthtech, Lenek Technologies, Aana Crop Solutions, Wander Continental Flyer, Climec Lab, ProPlant Foods, Meukron Technologies, Xfinito Biodesigns, Life and Limb, and NadiPulse Prognostics.

The winning startup at the end of the six-month period will be offered a cash prize of ₹10 lakh, and additional funding of ₹50 lakh.

Startup incubator programs across IITs have stepped up their offerings in support of early-stage ventures. On August 23, Tamil Nadu-based angel investment firm NativeLead Foundation partnered with IIT Madras Incubation Cell to support early-stage ventures addressing local social challenges — specifically in tier II cities and beyond. The partnership sought to aid IIT Madras to add 1,000 startups incubated under the institute by 2030.