VIJAYAWADA: The State government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Cyient Foundation and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to strengthen Andhra Pradesh’s innovation and startup ecosystem. The agreement was formalised in the presence of HRD and IT Minister Nara Lokesh at his residence in Undavalli, marking a crucial move to empower youth with entrepreneurial skills, and drive institutional innovation across the State.
The MoU outlines the establishment of urban innovation clusters, with the first cluster being launched in Visakhapatnam. These clusters will help educational institutions evolve into hubs of entrepreneurship, innovation and intellectual property creation. Under this initiative, specialised centres such as i-CARE (Innovation Creation and Research for Entrepreneurship), i-CAFE (Idea Creation and Auxiliary Facilities for Entrepreneurship), and IPR-TT (Intellectual Property Rights and Technology Transfer) cells will be set up in colleges and universities.
Lokesh asserted the government’s commitment to nurturing innovation and job creation through structured partnerships. “We are building an innovation-first economy to empower our youth,” he said.
The initiative will be implemented through boot camps, hackathons, innovation fairs, entrepreneurship competitions, and mentorship programmes with industry experts.