Telangana’s famous technology start-up incubator T-Hub and Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) have joined hands to launch Digital India Scale-up Programme to create scale up opportunities for Hardware/IoT start-ups in India

The call for applications from the start-ups is open. From among the hundreds of start-ups that are expected to apply, 10-15 with leading-edge solutions in mobility, energy, agriculture, aerospace, manufacturing, consumer, healthtech, medtech, smart cities and logistics and supply chain sectors will be short-listed.

Those selected, after an extensive screening process, will get access to a six-month acceleration programme. They will go through regular interventions through boot camps and dedicated mentoring organised by T-Hub.

The programme is designed for Internet of Things (IoT) and Hardware start-ups and will provide them with mentorship as well as exposure to the domestic and global innovation ecosystem

During the programme, the start-ups will get exposure to design/enhance their hardware. In addition, they will receive mentorship in areas such as pricing, go-to-market strategies, and fund raising. The short-listed start-ups will also receive equity-free grants, a release from T-Hub on the launch of the programme said.

While T-Hub will lead the programme across the country, MeitY and Digital India’s aim is to provide scale up opportunities to the start-ups and make them ready in terms of product, investment and new market access.

T-Hub CEO and Chief Innovation Officer of Telangana Ravi Narayan said, “Towards fuelling the growth of hardware and IoT start-ups in India further, T-Hub has partnered with MeitY to take the ecosystem to the next level so that innovative start-ups can scale-up strategically. T-Hub brings its matured acceleration programme with access to customers, investors and specialised mentors.”

CEO of MeitY start-up hub Ajai Garg said that the programme was important from the perspective of engaging the start-up community and bringing innovative thinking into product development that can accelerate the creation of new offerings in the hardware space.