NEW DELHI: Nagaland University has been selected to host one of four incubation centres being set up across the Northeast under a central government initiative to boost entrepreneurship and innovation. As part of the project, the 50 top-performing beneficiaries will receive startup seed grants of up to Rs 5 lakh each.
The initiative, “Establish, Develop and Manage Entrepreneurship Development Centres and Incubation Centres in Educational Institutes of the North Eastern Region”, is being implemented by the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Guwahati, and sponsored by the North Eastern Council (NEC), Shillong. While the NEC serves as the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the eight northeastern states, the IIE functions under the union ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship.
The Kohima campus of Nagaland University has been designated as one of the four regional incubation hubs. In its first batch, 44 beneficiaries will be onboarded this month, including 16 from Arunachal Pradesh, six from Assam, four from Manipur and 18 from Nagaland.
“This selection recognises the university’s role in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in the region,” said Prof Jagadish K Patnaik, vice-chancellor of Nagaland University. “It reaffirms our commitment to supporting the government’s vision of inclusive development through research and innovation.”
The incubation centres will provide mentoring from industry experts and established entrepreneurs, along with ideathons, bootcamps, hackathons and workshops over the next six months. “This is the first time such a structured initiative is being rolled out in the Northeast to identify and nurture entrepreneurs from even the remotest corners,” said Dhrubajyoti Bordoloi, coordinator of the incubation centre and assistant professor in the university’s department of management.
Across all NEC–IIE centres, 145 beneficiaries were shortlisted in FY 2024–25 after a rigorous screening process that included entrepreneurship awareness and development programmes, detailed project reports and business plan presentations assessed by industry and ministry experts.
The startup ecosystem in the Northeast is steadily growing, with over 2,050 DPIIT-registered startups as of December 2024, led by Assam with 1,487 ventures. These startups have created more than 8,800 jobs, with 42% of them led by women directors.
The Nagaland University incubation centre will also support resource mobilisation, convergence with other government schemes and contribute to building an entrepreneurial knowledge base through surveys and research. “We are also introducing entrepreneurship as a subject in the academic curriculum, creating a sustainable pipeline of innovators,” said Bordoloi.
Officials said the NEC–IIE incubation project dovetails into broader government skilling initiatives in the region, including pilot apprenticeship schemes and targeted vocational training under programmes like PMKVY and DDU-GKY, which aim to align education with industry needs and create livelihood opportunities.
The initiative, “Establish, Develop and Manage Entrepreneurship Development Centres and Incubation Centres in Educational Institutes of the North Eastern Region”, is being implemented by the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Guwahati, and sponsored by the North Eastern Council (NEC), Shillong. While the NEC serves as the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the eight northeastern states, the IIE functions under the union ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship.
The Kohima campus of Nagaland University has been designated as one of the four regional incubation hubs. In its first batch, 44 beneficiaries will be onboarded this month, including 16 from Arunachal Pradesh, six from Assam, four from Manipur and 18 from Nagaland.
“This selection recognises the university’s role in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in the region,” said Prof Jagadish K Patnaik, vice-chancellor of Nagaland University. “It reaffirms our commitment to supporting the government’s vision of inclusive development through research and innovation.”
The incubation centres will provide mentoring from industry experts and established entrepreneurs, along with ideathons, bootcamps, hackathons and workshops over the next six months. “This is the first time such a structured initiative is being rolled out in the Northeast to identify and nurture entrepreneurs from even the remotest corners,” said Dhrubajyoti Bordoloi, coordinator of the incubation centre and assistant professor in the university’s department of management.
Across all NEC–IIE centres, 145 beneficiaries were shortlisted in FY 2024–25 after a rigorous screening process that included entrepreneurship awareness and development programmes, detailed project reports and business plan presentations assessed by industry and ministry experts.
The startup ecosystem in the Northeast is steadily growing, with over 2,050 DPIIT-registered startups as of December 2024, led by Assam with 1,487 ventures. These startups have created more than 8,800 jobs, with 42% of them led by women directors.
The Nagaland University incubation centre will also support resource mobilisation, convergence with other government schemes and contribute to building an entrepreneurial knowledge base through surveys and research. “We are also introducing entrepreneurship as a subject in the academic curriculum, creating a sustainable pipeline of innovators,” said Bordoloi.
Officials said the NEC–IIE incubation project dovetails into broader government skilling initiatives in the region, including pilot apprenticeship schemes and targeted vocational training under programmes like PMKVY and DDU-GKY, which aim to align education with industry needs and create livelihood opportunities.
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