BENGALURU: The N S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL), the incubation and entrepreneurship hub at IIM Bangalore (IIM-B), has been selected by NITI Aayog for a Rs 10 crore grant as scale-up support over the next two years.
The funds will be used to enable the centre to upgrade and expand its infrastructure and services to entrepreneurs. NSRCEL is one of the six incubation centres in the country to receive the financial support under the Atal Innovation Mission.
Under the project, NITI Aayog received 232 applications from across the country last year. Of that, 17 were shortlisted and reviewed by NITI Aayog, before finalising six.
The selection process included initial screening, data cleaning, evaluation and presentation followed by site visit, if required.
The objective of the scheme is to transform the start-up ecosystem in the country by upgrading established incubation centres to world-class standards, said an official release from IIM-B.
Dr Suresh Bhagavatula, chairperson, Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development, NSRCEL, said, “We are happy to receive the funding from NITI Aayog. In addition to helping start-ups, we will be using these funds to help SMEs and family businesses professionalise and scale up their operations. In addition to incubation facilities, we plan to train entrepreneurs by using a blended learning approach, which uses both online and offline classroom training. ”