 Welcome you all for this program. Today, we have with us Dr. Nikhil Agarwal, the CEO of Startup Incubation and Innovation Center, an organization mandated to encourage and facilitate startups and innovation in the country. Dr. Agarwal holds his PhD in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies from the University of Edinburgh, UK. Dr. Agarwal is a renowned expert in innovation and entrepreneurship and his vision is to create an environment that supports, encourages and facilitates innovation and entrepreneurship. Let us hear from the expert. Welcome you Dr. Agarwal for this program. We want to understand from you how did you start this journey and what made you to land in the space of incubation and innovation. Now, that is a very interesting question because when I was in college and I didn't knew anything about entrepreneurship, innovation and I thought that I should start something. So, some of our college dorm mates, we started a company called Prakrati Communication and the company did very well in six months time. The only challenge was I have flunked one of my exams and my father called me if you close the company or otherwise you are out of the college. So, that was my first tirest with entrepreneurship. But going forward, I started teaching and working in area of entrepreneurship for many years. In 2008, we raised almost 8 million dollars as a part, I was part of the private group in Pune. We raised 8 million dollars from Helion Ventures from Intel Capital, then 2 million dollars further from Cisco to set up a company. Then I was the president of a large consulting firm in United Kingdom a few years. And in 2015, when I came back to India, I was recruited by Andhra Pradesh government to become the CEO for Innovation Society. We were the first state to set up our own incubator innovation ecosystem and we have come up with a state innovation and startup policy. And that was further inspired by a lot of other states. Andhra was the first one. In 2019, I joined IIT Kanpur and you will be very glad to know that today we are the largest incubator in the country. So, you are doing a wonderful job there. We had lot of startups have been incubated and you have been hand holding in the startups to the journey of incubation and innovation ecosystem there. That is what we understood there. I also want to understand how this startup incubation and innovation center makes better and how did, what was the objective of this startup incubation and innovation center of IIT Kanpur? So, we started in near to around 2000. So, there was some money was given by CIDB and the UP government to set up this SISC. At that time, it was known as CIDB Innovation and Incubation Center because the primary funding come from CIDB. However, over a period of time, we started calling SISC. We are indeed very thankful and indebted to CIDB for considering innovation, promotion of innovation 20 years back when nobody was talking about it. But center has done quite phenomenally well. So, initially idea was to commercialize the institute technologies. So, I will tell you the real challenge in India. So, we fund lot of research to the professors and to the labs in various colleges across the country. However, these outstanding research never see a day of light. They after few years of funding, when the funding runs out, maybe a patent is filed or something, but the research die down or the product die down inside the lab and the new product come new research comes, professors get busy somewhere else. So, the technology transfer problem is already there. So, number of American and Western universities, you see there is a TTO office, technology transfer office which is there. So, initially the focus of SISC was to promote institute research and help them in commercializing it. But going forward now, we are an inclusive incubator because we are also a national institution. So, we cannot limit our incubator only for the internal people. Today, we have now 30-35% of the companies which we have are by IITans including IIT Kanpur or other IITs 65% of our companies are from outside. So, we allow everyone who can think, who can innovate, who have some new idea and whom we can help. They can apply to us and they are welcome to join the journey. So, the focus today of the incubator is to not only commercialize and promote the technologies of IIT Kanpur, but also bring in the other people who need our help whom we can work together in solving the technological problem, solving the social problem. We come within some of the ideas, for example, technology for social good. Like how the social problem public infrastructure issues can be solved through technology and innovation. So, that way that is the reason we have become little wider in our scope today. So, what have been the most notable achievement of SIIC and how did you achieve this? So, SIIC has been working in various domains for a few years. So, one of the notable achievement was that there is a company called Curadev which was in cancer drug. So, they that company was eventually acquired by Rosh Pharmaceutical for almost $5 million. So, that was one of the I would say biggest success of institute, you know, incubators in the country that happened in India 2012. But recently, there was a during the COVID time particularly, we contributed a lot for indigenization and development of our own technologies. Like in fact, I still remember Prime Minister talked about the at Nipur Bharat and Self-Reliant India. At that time, nobody was understanding this that why we need to be self-reliant. But during the COVID time, we realized that nobody is going to help us out. We have to help ourselves. Just to give you couple of examples here. In 2020, there was a newspaper report came that there are more than 200,000 ventilators needed. At that time, India was having less than 10,000 ventilators. How do you fulfill that requirement? We Indian government wrote to several countries that please provide us in ventilators. And I remember one of the newspaper report that the US gave us only 100 ventilators. Okay. Requirement is 200,000 because their challenges are there. So, Samsung, Philips or Siemens, they are all foreign companies and they have to first fulfill their own country requirement than giving it to elsewhere. So, we said we have to do something. So, we created task force. Within 60 days time, we created a ventilator. In 90 days time, there was a live patient on the ventilator. Today, we have sold thousands of ventilators, hundreds of thousands of patients have gone through and touch wood. Everybody is okay. Everybody is recovered, which is very good news. Same way, we worked on several other technologies. Like there is a nanotechnology by using nanotechnology, we come up with a swassa mask, which can block 95% of the aerosol virus. It is indigenous technology invented at IIT Kanpur by inventor called Sandeep Patil. And you will be, and I am sure you must be aware that this mask become the sort of official mask for government of India. Okay. Even for the entire parliamentarian, they used to wear the mask. So, that way we have come with a number of, like in the second wave, there was a requirement for oxygen concentrator, oxygen plant. So, some of our innovators work on those things. And now, going forward, we are working on number of technologies. Some of our focus area is cyber security. So, we have the largest cyber security cohort in the country, close to 50 companies today are working on cyber security. Okay, 50, that's a great sign. Threat intelligence, VAPT, hardware, legacy. You name it and we work in most of the cyber security areas. Similarly, the UP government has given us a Center for Artificial Intelligence. So, we have set up a Center for Artificial Intelligence in our Noida campus. We have now close to 53 companies which have graduated and new 25 more companies are coming in. So, number of areas that we have interest not only in a specific area, because we have now large incubator. So, we try to take advantage of our IIT Kanpur strength, our students and our faculty members and come up with a new areas of innovation. Okay, since you have watched so many new product in the emerging areas and current needs from you as head of an incubation, want to understand what is essential to have a successful incubation or innovation ecosystem. So, the first is the selection of the incubate, incubate. So, you need to have, see, a lot of people want to do a startup because everybody else is doing the startup, but that should not be the case. Other people want to get into startup that they want to make quick money. Again, I should warn those people they should not come to the startup domain, because that brings a bad name to the people. I want to do something. I want to make quick money. I want to make exit. This is not the correct way. Okay. The first and foremost characteristic of innovator is he is a problem solver. Okay. He identify a problem. He is willing to solve that problem. He is willing to devote his time, energy, money, sweat. Okay. Not only his purpose for investors and others. And you want to devote his significant time or a half or some part of his life in solving the problem. If he is able to do that, he will be a successful entrepreneur. Money will follow, investment will follow, customer will follow, everybody will follow. Okay. But if your basic objective is to make money, then startup is not a area to come in. Okay. So, first and foremost thing is that. Second is proper mentorship and technology support is needed. So, incidentally, institutions like us, we have great labs. Like, we have bio lab, we have flexronics lab, we have mechanical labs, we have energy labs. So, number of labs are there. So, as a young entrepreneur, somebody is coming in, if you want to do something in hardcore technology, he can find access to those labs. That's very important. Very important. Because to have any solution to be given. The infrastructure is very important. Yes. So, the labs and the hardware for them to develop it and the support system is very important. And then we, our professors are very enthusiastic. Okay. Normally, what we do is such kind of problem needs to be solved. We find a faculty mentor, one faculty mentor or two faculty member and engage that innovator with that person. That you work with them and try to solve a problem. The way is that, first of all, he gets access to the knowledge and expertise of a professor. He gets access to the students of a professor who is doing PhDs or MTAX or, you know, research work. And the third is that he will have access to the labs in solving those issues. So, number of ideas which our people are working today. Like, for example, there is a very famous company now in India. It's called Pool. We just come up with the incense sticks, Agrabati, from the waste flowers. Yes. Now, certainly that is becoming a great product. But what they are more known for, will be known for and what we are excited about. They have come with a flower-based leather. Leather. Okay. It's called leather. Okay. It's completely sustainable, completely made from flower waste. Okay. Like, waste flower, which were thrown away into the Ganges. They collected the flower and they use this making the leather. And it is no animalism harmed in this. Recently, they have done a tie-up with Tommy Hilfiger. Okay. And they will be making wallets out of this leather in Kanpur. Okay. So, Kanpur is known for its animal leather. But now I am sure in the future, because of our association with Pool and IIT Kanpur, Kanpur will be known for leather. Okay. So, same way, there is a flower-based styrofoam. Okay. Styrofoam is again one of the most biodegradable products. It takes 1000 years, that has been told for a thermocol to decompose. Yes. But now the flower-based thermocol, which is there, it can be decomposed quite quickly. Yeah. So, those kind of technologies that we are working on, one of the work we did it from engineering perspective, we implemented a CNG filling station in Kyrgya Ghat in Banaras. Okay. So, there are only four companies in the world which can do this kind of stable jetties, which can take a load or even the high tide, low tide floods that jetties does not move to remain stable. Okay. And CNG requires a continuous pipeline, where the gas should come into the pump station and boats can get the filling. Done. Okay. So, it has to be stable. It cannot be like moving, there is no storage of CNG happening in the jetty. And it is highly unstable environment in terms of accidents and all. So, jetty has to become stable. So, that kind of engineering has been done by our company called Aquafront Infrastructure. Okay. And in fact, the honorable Prime Minister spoke about that company twice in two different forums. Okay. So, that kind of like unsolvable problems we are trying to solve. Yeah. So, I want your suggestion and view on how the tier 2, tier 3 students or startups which is being located and who can be the right set of mentors to them. Can you guide on that? So, particularly for the UP government, what we have done at IAP and we have committed there that we are mentoring all the 13 RECs. So, RECs is Rajki Engineering colleges. In fact, one of the oldest institution in the country is HBTU. Okay. Kanpur, we are mentoring HBTU in starting the incubation activity. Outside the state, we are working with MIT in Gwalior, one engineering college in Vedisha, whoever approaches, whoever approaches number of private colleges also. Recently, there is a institution in Gazebath, IMT Gazebath, they ask us to help them in starting the incubator. Okay. So, what we have done over a period of time, our policies and structures have stabilized. Okay. For example, HR policy, how do you hire people? For example, the faculty entrepreneurship policy, how the IIT has implemented student entrepreneurship policy. Recently, we are also rolling out the staff entrepreneurship policy. Okay. When the staff can start their own companies. So, number of institutions was to learn about that how IIT Kanpur has implemented these policies. So, we provide help to them. Second, the lab infrastructure, there is a specific request come in to use our lab infrastructure or there is user. So, we have a something called a co-incubation agreement. Okay. So, let us say there is an outstanding company which is with any of the college in Delhi or Punjab or anywhere and they want to access our infrastructure. We evaluate that company. If we feel that the company is interesting and we can really work with that company, we co-incubate with them. Okay. So, there is a co-incubation agreement also exists with number of institution that provide an access to the lab infrastructure and for technology. Okay. The third thing we can also do is like if there is a specific request coming in for the problem of national importance. Okay. Something has been solved like in medical field or in defense field and the approaches, they write a letter to us or to director IIT Kanpur that this is what is been there and we evaluate that this particular problem is a national importance which need to be, which need our support. So, without our own vested interest, we support them. So, idea of the incubator is to promote innovation ecosystem across, not only the state of Uttar Pradesh but across India. We are a national institution. Yes. We like that this problem to be solved and rather than importing the innovation from outside, we should start developing our own innovative products and we can export them to the countries which were earlier importing this. So, that is the like I would say the gist of and our motivation. Yeah. That is very good sir, like an institute of national importance and having an incubation center within the campus, supporting the students within the state and beyond the state. If you say like students who is there in say like Tamil Nadu, he wants to have an incubation or a startup to be incubated at your center, how do you hand hold them and to be a successful startup? So, companies can come anywhere. So, the only since we are also custodian of government funds, we cannot incubate companies which are incorporated outside of the country. We can incubate any company in corporate India. There has to be at least one founder should be a majority founder should be Indian. That is must. So, there is various ways of working like we encourage companies to come to the campus and we provide them accommodation. It is extremely subsidized cost. We provide them office and you will be very glad to know the rights of the incubator incubating is similar to the rights of professor of IIT Kanpur. That is great. So, for example, if let us say if I am a professor of electrical engineering, I have to access the computer science lab. So, the way I access the lab, same way the incubator or incubating and also access that lab. That is fantastic. So, that is advantage. So, the company which is like say Tamil Nadu wants to incubate with us, most likely they are looking for tech support or kind of mentorship support. So, we say you come over here, you spend some time. If you cannot come here permanently, keep on visiting us, maybe 10, 15 days, 20 days, we will provide you access. Once you are, once your technology is stabilized and you come to certain level, you can virtually incubate with us. We can keep on providing you investment support, mentorship support. The another advantage of IIT Kanpur is that now we have a campus in Noida. So, the companies which does not need active lab support, we ask them to shift to Noida so that they can have a business connect through our Noida campus. So, Center for Artificial Intelligence is also set up in Noida. So, there are companies which are co-located there, at least for the UP based company which are incorporated. So, Center for AI, they can access anytime. So, now India has emerged as third largest ecosystem in startup globally. So, what do you think it has been contributed to this phenomenal growth of our country? I think Indians are always known for their own innovation and curiosity. Unfortunately, we were doing all in Silicon Valley. Like some of the most smartest people who migrated to Silicon Valley and now they are running the large companies like Microsoft or who will be all know about it. But now the opportunity is so much in India, there are relatively less number of people going abroad. If you look at the whole NCR region, North India, Southern India, Western India, the quality of life has improved, the access to medical facility and other things have improved. So, people, so educated class are not going out. They want to do something for their own country. So, the feeling of patriotism is there and feeling of doing something here is there and third is the economy factor. See, the outside countries are growing only half a percent or one percent per year. India is going 7 percent a year. So, the growth factor what you have today here is unmatchable. So, for these kind of innovation ecosystem created in the country. So, when there are some traditional say like funding or ecosystem in our country like Atal Incubation Center, DST Technology Business Incubation Center, MSME Incubation Center. Beyond that, do you have any source of funding for the startups which would help them in making their startup more successful? Very important question particularly for the startups because number of startup and also incubators does not know about what is the funding opportunity which is coming in exclusively from the government and I will also talk about the private funding opportunities. So, from the government ecosystem if you look at most of the ministries are now having their own startup initiative like Ministry of Urban Affairs has initiative called Waste to Wealth, garbage facilities, waste to wow. So, they are putting they are supporting around last year they have supported around 25 companies this year they will be supporting around 45 companies who are willing to do waste aggregation solid waste management creating new kind of products from the waste and they are connecting these companies with urban local bodies across the country. Similarly, if you look at the disability, if you are a startup working in assistive technology for the blind, for the deaf, for the disabled people you can speak with the Ministry of Disability Affairs and they can they can help you in doing something. If you are an SCST startup then there is a separate fund Ambedkar scheme which is there exclusively meant for people from SCST class to get funding from them. If you are a woman entrepreneur there is a separate scheme for this then they what the government has started doing they have come with their own challenges like Ministry of Textiles come with them textile innovation challenge, Ministry of Fishery will come with a marine life challenge. So, those challenges are also there. So, then the principal scientific advisor office they have started working with number of CSR and corporate across the country. And if the CSR wants to donate the money to run a context or hackathon they normally to approach the PSA office PSA office then circulate it across the country. So, there is enough opportunity today. If you are a good quality startup most likely you will receive some kind of funding, initial funding from the government. So, you do not need to be from the business class anymore to start your business. So, that is the good news. So, you have asked a question earlier that how the India has become the third largest startup ecosystem this is one of the reason. In fact, I am thankful to the government in providing so many opportunities today to the people. If your intentions are right if you have control of your technology and if you are capable chances are that you will raise some startup seed fund whoever you are wherever you are it does not matter you can be in Gorakhpur or you can be in Noida that does not matter. You can raise funds from the government ecosystem number of private trades are also doing like SDFC banks, Citibank, IOC, EIL, ONGC they are also coming up with their own startup challenges and money either in the domain they work in or a generic domain. So, there is my suggestion to most of the innovators who are listening to this talk today if you work closely with any incubator nearer to your city where you live in they will receive this information and then you can make an application to receive the funding. Coming to your personal question to you, you are also the best selling author please tell us about your book the startup master plan that master plan will help many participants to become and you know successful entrepreneur or like you know master in their own startup or business what they are doing it right. So, in fact that master plan was written the plan was there in my head but it was not written because didn't get time. So, during the Covid lockdown we had some time so I have collaborated with my own son who was in 12th but he is an entrepreneur mindset. So, we start discussing with ever some time in the evening in the morning during the daytime we were all like try to solve the national problems and we wrote this book it was published by Business Express Press is a New York based publisher and incidentally that book has become number one in small business at least in Amazon. So, what we talked about is that how to build your business from scratch. So, it is sort of a guide and a bible for those who wants to start their own business. So, what are the pitfalls you can get into avoid those pitfalls what that we provide tricks of the trade you know. So, just to give you couple of insights like what the startups do. So, startup they they some many of the start does not get any guidance. So, what they do is they spend too much of time in building up their website they will spend serious time in changing their logos you know sometime I have seen like people are spending 4 to 6 months time in deciding the names and logos. But what we say is get into the business first you know the even the names like Haldiram also sells in India and sometime you name does not matter once the people start accepting you. Like yesterday I went to one place and there was a Kuremal Kulfiwala that is also selling like who will think that you will have a Kulfi from Kura you know jokes apart. But those names also sell companies should work on the customer acquisition should work on the legal side of it compliance has become extremely important activity from where to raise funds how to get mentorship how to get connected to the other people in the ecosystem that is more important to the books talks about the master plan that how you can launch your business in shortest period of time. And your chances of becoming successful becomes higher. Like you want an advice for you for this young entrepreneurs and startup I want your personal advice as in incubation head for an successful entrepreneur. See success will come if you are persistent you need to have patience and a persistence to become an entrepreneur. Like I remember I will give you a similar example when PV Sandhu won the medal incidentally I was in Hyderabad that time I was working for the government there and she gave an interview in the newspapers she said somebody asked that how you become overnight success. You won the medal and you become suddenly become celebrity he said but 12 years I woke up at 3.30 am in the morning and 4 o'clock 4.30 I used to be at the court I used to train for 8 hours for 12 years 365 days no Saturday no Sunday then I become overnight success. So if you have persistence if you have patience and you have a ability not to give up okay you will become successful you look at any top entrepreneurs today whether Dipendra Goyal whether Ritesh Agrawal whether it is Bansal whether it is Vishisheka Sharma they own if you start reading about their journey 10 years back they all new companies like 10 years back yes they have gone to the nadir they all pay income rise like a phoenix yes everybody has faced problems they have gone through the serious challenges funding problem customer problem regulatory issues or technology issues sometime it looks like that the company will be shut down and they have to go for a job yes but they again came back and now they are successful company. So pick up any example of successful startup there is a hardware there is a dedication there is a patience and the ability to continuously move on the positive mindset that is there and everything will follow people say investment and out of box it all will follow yes we have to stand we have to face yes so startup is also like fighting your own enemy which is there inside you is like I will not be fearful I will succeed I have taken this challenge of solving this problem I will solve this problem whatever it takes and once you do that then the whole world up praise you whole world will follow you and you will become successful yes I am sure with your dynamic leadership we may be or we will get many more products to the country for benefit of the society and also thanks for hand holding many startups and also you said like you have been extending the support not alone at within IIT Kanpur beyond that within UP beyond UP to all the states. Thank you Dr. Nikhil Agarwal for sparing your quality time and briefing about how the startup incubation and innovation center of IIT Kanpur is mentoring and helping the student innovators of our country and also briefing about the various funding opportunities available in the country for the students and innovators currently India is in 40th position in global innovation index in 2015 India was at 81st position this growth is consolidated effort of the researchers and innovators across the country when the national anthem of our country is played at any place we get goosebumps and excited that excitement should not stop there we all should contribute for the benefit of the country every individual contribution will make our country to stand in the better position in coming years. Thank you.