Itanagar, October 13: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Tuesday inaugurated incubation centres across seven educational institutions under the Arunachal Pradesh Entrepreneurship Development Programme, aimed at helping young people transform innovative ideas into viable businesses.
The centres have been established at Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh University, Arunachal University of Studies, National Institute of Technology (NIT) Jote, North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology (NERIST), Dera Natung Government College and Dorjee Khandu Government College in Tawang.
Addressing the programme, Khandu said the centres would provide students with access to guidance, training and support to develop business ideas, establish enterprises and generate employment.
The government also announced measures to strengthen the state’s startup ecosystem, including doubling the annual intake of startups from 50 to 100 and increasing seed funding under the revised framework. Funding will rise from ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh under one category and from ₹4 lakh to ₹8 lakh under another.
Among the new initiatives is the Arunachal Creative Economy (ACE), designed to help young people turn creative ideas into businesses. The government also announced the Institute for Transforming Arunachal (ITA), an expert think tank intended to provide policy guidance for the state’s development.
Khandu further announced a startup-investor meet to connect local entrepreneurs with venture capitalists and expand access to investment opportunities.
The government will also launch the YES Arunachal portal as a single-window platform to help young people access Central and state government schemes.
Khandu said the initiatives were aimed at promoting innovation, strengthening entrepreneurship and creating employment opportunities for the state’s youth.