Govt Urges Corporates to Set Up Manufacturing Startup Incubators

New Delhi, May 31 (PTI) The government has urged over 100 corporates, including Tata, Hyundai, and Apple, as well as unicorns to set up incubation centres for manufacturing sector startups, an official said on Friday.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has shared a handbook with the companies on corporate incubation and acceleration.

"We have requested over 100 corporates to have their manufacturing incubators. We have requested companies such as Tata, Hyundai, and Apple as well as unicorns. As we are lacking in this space and we have taken internal goal of creating 50 such entities in near future," the official said.

The National Council for Cement and Building Materials has already set up the centre.

Developing a strong manufacturing base is an essential activity for any nation as it promotes innovation and competitiveness, boosts employment, livelihoods and standards of living, and strengthens self-reliance and economic stability.

Startups and entrepreneurs in the nation have been playing a significant role in shifting global value chains to India by creating and innovating domestically.

"Manufacturing startups require support from several ecosystem stakeholders to grow and scale," the official said, adding that manufacturing-focused incubators are one of the most important drivers of support for startups as they provide essential pilot, scaling, and manufacturing facilities that can provide plug and play options to product startups, reducing the burden of high capex investments.

These incubators provide access to shared facilities for startups to support innovative product development and early-stage manufacturing, paving the way for growth and scaling up of the ecosystem.

They also act as an interface between the startups and the medium and large-scale companies providing access to pilot facilities for manufacturing, test beds, prototyping facilities design centres and facilitation for technology management, market access and risk capital.

Such incubators can be set up by a variety of entities such as corporates, academic institutes, and research institutes.

Specifically for corporates, incubating and fostering manufacturing startups provide a variety of benefits and advantages in an increasingly competitive global market.

The official added that corporate incubators can allow businesses to leverage the innovative potential of startups through technology transfer from incubated startups and facilitate the co-creation of groundbreaking products.

Corporates can gain competitive advantage in markets and gain new customers faster, as working with incubated startups can help corporates reduce research and development (R&D) costs and time, the official added.

"Corporates can institutionalise in-house incubators and incubation programs in several ways, depending on the resources available to them. The scale and scope of the incubation activities can be customised keeping in mind the goals of the corporate," the official said.

Eligible entities can also explore availing benefits extended to incubators or incubator programs through government initiatives like the Startup India initiative, Atal Incubation Centres (AICs), National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI), Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE), Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), and Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX).