Chandigarh Innovation Circle to give a boost to startups

The UT administration is forming the Chandigarh Innovation Circle (CIC) to facilitate budding entrepreneurs and those who have innovative ideas but no resources to execute them.

The draft report for the CIC was discussed in March and now the UT has invited institutions from the region to join it.

The CIC that will be incorporated as a Section 8 Company under the Companies Act 2013 will be connecting academic institutions, industries, administration and the government on a platform to boost economic and technological growth in the region.

A Section 8 company is formed for charitable purpose, to promote education, art, commerce, social welfare. Any profit made by such company is further used for the promotion of the same. As a Section 8 company, the CIC will not make any profits for any agency. However, the money generated will further be used for CIC’s prime objectives.

The plan was first floated by UT administrator and governor of Punjab, VP Singh Badnore, after looking at the Chandigarh Region Innovation and Knowledge Cluster (CRIKC) founded by Panjab University in 2013, where 29 academic institutions from the region are collaborating.

As per information, former director general, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Girish Sahni will be appointed the head of board of governors.

Boosting economic and technological activity

Former director general, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Girish Sahni said, “The Chandigarh administration has put a lot of effort in this idea. The purpose is to develop the city as the economic and technological hub of the region.”

Kumara Guru, director external relations, Indian School of Business said, “Three years ago, Telangana government started the Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad (RICH). The UT has studied its model and has committed funds to start the CIC.”

He added, “Any researcher/budding entrepreneur from the region or across the country will be able to apply to CIC and the applications will be screened.”

The key areas that have been chalked out at present are life sciences and biotechnology, food and agriculture, and technology.

Rakesh Tuli, senior research adviser at UIET, PU, said, “Taking the incubated technology to market requires involvement of different functionaries. Under the UT administration, CIC as a Section 8 Company will be able to easily connect to the industry and get investment. It will be a step towards making Chandigarh a smart city.”

A positive initiative: Stakeholders

Former Panjab University vice-chancellor and co-founder of CRIKC, Arun K Grover said, “It is a great proposal and has taken nearly six months to reach this stage. The individual incubators in the region will come together for economic growth.”

National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) Mohali, director, Raghuram G said, “Chandigarh is a good place to have such an entity. We have so many academic institutions to make it work.”

The CIC will have a board of directors, vision and oversight committee, a CEO, member institutions and heads and staff for different research areas. It will also have advisers for business, finance, IP and legal matters. The CIC will operate from a central location in Chandigarh, the space for which will be provided by the UT administration.

BOON FOR START-UPS CIC to be a platform for entrepreneurs, research/academic institutions, investors and industry to collaborate for nurturing and commercialising innovations.

How will it benefit start-ups?

•Government/institutional level association and support

•Industry collaboration support for research and market access

•Network with other clusters and incubators

•Collaboration with international ecosystem enablers

•Start-up referrals