Why India’s college incubators have little to show for a decade of govt push

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The government’s push on entrepreneurship through the Atal Innovation Mission promised to transform Indian colleges into innovation hubs. A decade on, that ambition remains largely unrealized.Since2016, the Centre has established Atal Incubation Centres (AICs) in 60 institutions across the country under the initiative, spearheaded by think tank Niti Aayog.Of these, 38 have incubated 3,067 startups.

While eight don’t list a specific number, Mintcalculations show they’ve helped incubate more than 3,500 startups. Five don't list how many startups have been part of their portfolio, and nine don't have functional websites.In total, 46 of these incubators have produced 6,567 companies—just 2.8% of the country's 226,561 startups recognized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade of India (DPIIT).Telangana-based T-Hub stands out for its portfolio, which includes the spacetech major Skyroot Aerospace, the short-form entertainment platform PocketFM, and the headless CMS platform Contentstack.

The rest have produced little of note in consumer markets or business-to-business venture capital circles. However, it existed before it was accredited as an AIC.The IITs, in comparison, have delivered stronger outcomes.

Over the past 12 years, IIT Madras has incubated 457 startups, including publicly listed Ather Energy, aerospace manufacturer Agnikul Cosmos, and AI platform unicorn Uniphore, among others. Between 2018 and 2024, IIT Delhi incubated 147 startups.IIM Ahmedabad, through its venture arm IIMA Ventures, has backed 169 ventures, including space company Bellatrix Aerospace, robotics firm CynLr, and electric air taxi startup ePlane.