India's first Atal Community Innovation Center launched by Vivekananda Global University, Jaipur, in association with Atal Innovation Mission

India's 1st Atal Community Innovation Center (ACIC) was inaugurated on Saturday at Vivekananda Global University, Jaipur (VGU). Shri Onkar Bagaria, CEO - VGU, greeted all the guests and, in his address, said that it will be the first center in the country to be set up by the Government of India, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and NITI Aayog. It is a matter of great pride for VGU.

ACIC aims to support and nurture innovative ideas that can take the shape of big ideas and help transform society for a better tomorrow. This center, started under the joint aegis of Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog and VGU, will benefit the hardworking, passionate and courageous businessmen of Rajasthan who want to take their business towards heights.


VGU also hosted some of the most prominent venture capitalists of the country, such as Bloom Ventures, LetsVenture, Rajasthan Angel Investor Network, Indian Angel Network, Rajasthan Venture Capitalist Fund, Marwari Catalyst etc.

In this summit, the challenges of startup companies after the Corona era, the government's policies and plans, and the areas of sales resources were discussed in detail. For this, a total of three panels were constituted by the organisers.

Chief Guest, Dr. Chintan Vaishnav, Director, AIM, NITI Aayog, Government of India, inaugurated the program.

The topic of discussion in the first panel was "Funding Opportunities and Ecosystem for Startups", which was moderated by Shri Vinay Modi. Panellists included Mr. Varun Kogta - Founder, Kogta Finance, Sushil Sharma – Director, Marwari Catalyst, Arpit Agarwal – Director, Bloom Ventures & Arijit Bhattacharya – Angel Investor. Everyone believed that this center would prove to be a milestone in realising and developing the Sustainable Development Goal for Handy Craft, Craft, Art, Lifestyle, Design, Agriculture, etc. It will be helpful for the businessmen and artists who want to improve their art and want to convert it into profitable numbers.

In the second panel, the topic of Government Intervention and Support System to Build Innovation/Startup Ecosystem in the country was discussed in detail. It was moderated by Mr. Ramesh Loganathan - Professor Co-Innovation/Outreach at IIIT Hyderabad, Ex-Chief Innovation Officer of Telangana State Innovation Cell & which is also a Board of Member at VGU. The panel consisted of Dr Chintan Vaishnav, Mission Director, AIM, NITI Aayog, Government of India, Mr. Ashok Chand – CEO, KRBL Limited, Mr. Dipan Sahu - Asst. Innovation Director, Ministry of Education's Innovation Cell & AICTE, Govt. of India & Prof. (Dr.) Vijay Veer – President, VGU.

The topic of discussion for the third panel was "Post-Pandemic Issues and Challenges in India for the Startup Community". The panel was moderated by Mr. Paresh Gupta – Founder, GCEC & Brand Ambassador - Rajasthan Government. The panel consisted of Mr. Ayush Bansal - Senior Director Strategy, Razorpay (one of India's Unicorn), Mr. Amit Jain - CEO & Co-Founder of Girnar Soft & CarDekho (One of the biggest startups in Jaipur), Mr. Vishwas Shringi – Founder, Voyalla, Ms. Sushma Vyas – Co-founder, Ranosys Technologies Ltd.

The university administration made the visitors and guests visit the laboratory, where various live workshops were planned to manufacture items like blue pottery, jewellery etc., with the help of a CNC machine, 3D printer etc.

On this occasion, fifteen talented young entrepreneurs were allowed to showcase their products live in a startup flee marked arranged by the hosts.

VGU via ACIC - VGU Foundation will provide assistance ranging from 5 to 10 lakh rupees to its first few incubates, and they will be given mentoring here to achieve their goals. On the occasion of the launch of this ACIC, Marwari Catalyst, in association with VGU, also launched an Agri-Tech Accelerator Program under which funding of 2 crores will be made available to the first ten startups.

In this sequence, ACIC VGU Foundation also tied up with Neo Angeles on Youth Accelerator, under which funding of up to Rs 50 lakh will be provided to 5 startups. Many prominent personalities & ecosystem partners of the country were present on this occasion, along with representatives of FICCI, ASSOCHAM, CII etc., also joining the event. All appreciated the center facilities, and they even assured to give their full cooperation in future.

VGU website: http://vgu.ac.in

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