Work on early warning of natural disasters: CM to IIT

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Mandi, August 27

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur today inaugurated the 6th edition of Himalayan Startup Trek 2022 – an annual startup event of IIT-Mandi on its campus at Kamand.

Representatives of the stakeholders of the Indian Startup Ecosystem, including startups, investors and seasoned entrepreneurs, participated in the event.

The Chief Minister also inaugurated the IIT-Mandi Catalyst Co-Work space and iHub and HCI Foundation Office on the campus.

Addressing an audience, the CM said researchers should work on early warning of natural disasters in the Himalaya region to avert human tragedies. Every year, due to natural disasters, many people lost their lives. Through technology advantage, it would be possible to ensure the early warning of disasters.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his Independence Day speech from Red Fort this year, has given a slogan ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan and Jai Anusandhan’, underlining the importance of technology and research to make India forge ahead on the path of progress and prosperity,” he added.

“The Himalayan Startup Trek was symbolic of the emerging startup ecosystem in Himachal with immense support from the state government over the past several years. Top startups from the event will be handpicked for incubation support by the IIT Mandi Catalyst. Several startups will get an opportunity to pilot their solutions with the help from state departments and explore collaboration,” he said.

He said the Department of Science and Technology, Startup India and the government had provided Rs 70 crore for supporting the startup. Of which, Rs 10 crore had been provided to the IIT.

“The government has taken various steps to create a conducive ecosystem for startups for their growth. The youth should capitalise on all support programmes being initiated and create sustainable solutions that not only would benefit the state but also the country. The government is also seeking inputs from the IIT to revise the startup policy. The objective is to make it more effective and to provide more benefits to startups,” he added.

Director, IIT, Dr Laxmidhar Behera, said, “Modi wants to flourish India in startup and for this we need to create a perfect ecosystem.”

Startup policy revision on cards

The government is also seeking inputs from the IIT-Mandi to revise the startup policy. The objective is to provide more benefits to startups. — Jai Ram Thakur, CM