TSIC-AgHub MoU to Provide Technical Backstopping For Rural Entrepreneurs in Telangana

AgHub – Agri Innovation Hub of PJTSAU (Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University) has entered into an MoU with TSIC (Telangana State Innovation Cell) of the Information Technology, Electronics & Communications Department, Government of Telangana to provide technical backstopping to grassroot entrepreneurs and students in the state of Telangana. As part of the Co-Incubation MoU, AgHub and TSIC will help the innovators, entrepreneurs and students from Tier 2, Tier 3 and rural areas of Telangana in understanding and developing innovations in a techno commercial angle within the agri and allied innovation ecosystem.
Present at the MoU signing were Shri. Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Pl.Secy to ITE&C Dept. Govt. of Telangana, Dr. V. Praveen Rao, Vice Chancellor, PJTSAU and Chairperson, AgHub, Dr. R. Kalpana Sastry, Managing Director, AgHub, Annie Vijaya, Head of Sustainability and Scalability at TSIC, and Dhruti Kalavapudi, Innovation Fellow at TSIC.

Shri Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT) departments of the Government of Telangana noted that many grassroot innovators and entrepreneurs are in the look-out for avenues to support them and this collaboration would help facilitate what is the need of the hour in the agri innovation space, especially in the rural areas. 

Dr. V. Praveen Rao, Vice Chancellor, PJTSAU and Chairperson, AgHub pointed that close collaborations and partnering with all ecosystem facilitators would build a strong and enabling ecosystem for aspiring agriprenuers and start-ups. “With initiatives like AgHub, PJTSAU has the potential to be an innovation sandbox, combining the intrinsic capabilities of the knowledge and expertize in agri, food value chain links with stakeholders like farmers, aspiring innovators and start-ups”. He also emphasized on the role of PJTSAU as a Centre for validating the ideas and innovations through the strong research and extension wings of the university that is home to technical experts and domain specialists.

Dr. R. Kalpana Sastry, Managing Director, AgHub stated that collaborations of catalysts like AgHub and TSIC will pave way and facilitate development of an innovation-driven agri and allied ecosystem at the grassroots level, thereby providing a launchpad for grassroot innovators and students in the rural landscape of Telangana State. 

Dr. Shanta Thoutam, Chief Innovation Officer, Government of Telangana said “With this timely collaboration with Ag-Hub, we aim to leverage their  resources and connections to nurture and scale our Agri and Food innovations. We will explore synergies with Ag-Hub on supporting innovators and startups referred by TSIC in terms of validation, business, mentoring and other relevant opportunities that are needed to commercialize market-ready products.”

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