Aiming to provide support for innovators and startups, in various phases via investments, infrastructure and support, Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank', Union Minister for Education virtually inaugurated the Gyan Circle Ventures, a MeitY funded Technology Business Incubator (TBI) of Indian Institute of Information Technology, Sri City (Chittoor), Andhra Pradesh through Video Conference on 8th October.

'Gyan Circle ventures' have the potential to instill entrepreneurship in young minds and steward them to become successful innovators, the Minister said.

Amit Khare, Secretary, Higher Education; Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, MeitY; Satish Chandra, Special Chief Secretary HE, Government of Andhra Pradesh; Bala M.S. Chairman, Board of Governors, IIIT Sri City Chittoor; Srinivasa C. Raju, Chairman, Sri City; Prof. G. Kannabiran, Director, IIIT Sri City Chittoor and senior officials of the Ministry were present on the occasion.

The Union Minister said "Innovation is the engine that powers this progress of the nation. We need to foster innovation and entrepreneurship to ensure that we are self-sustainable and remain as a leader, at the cutting edge of science and technology".

Keeping up with the spirit of entrepreneurship, in 2020, IIIT Sri City is launching the TBI, Gyan Circle Ventures. Gyan Circle Ventures would function as a Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE 2.0) incubation center as approved by the Ministry of Information Technology (MeitY), he Informed.

He further informed that the incubator would leverage the institutions' entrepreneurial spirit via utilizing its intellectual capital and engage in using emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Block-chain, Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), Cyber Security, Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics, etc.

The Union Minister said that the Gyan Circle Ventures will serve as a hub for innovation and startups by providing support, in various phases, via investments, infrastructure and mentoring. Notably, the TBI would have an Advisory Committee comprising leading Industrialists, entrepreneurs and technical experts.

On the occasion, Amit Khare said "IIIT Sri City promotes a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship to help faculty and students to fulfill their potential and to serve the needs of the community. IIIT Sri City has established an Entrepreneurship Cell (E-cell) to support and enable students to create innovative ideas and convert them into business opportunities. E-cell trains students on how to be successful entrepreneurs with social responsibility".

Ajay Prakash Sawhney said that IIIT Sri City is the perfect example of collaboration of education and industries and they are working great in the field of innovation.