Raksha Nikhil Khadse, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, has reaffirmed the Centre’s commitment to innovation-led growth and youth-driven industrial transformation.
Addressing innovators, entrepreneurs, students and industry leaders at ‘Sonipat Startup Summit 4.0’ at IIT Delhi Technopark, Rai, Khadse said as the world’s fastest-growing economy India is entering a defining deep-tech phase driven by research, capital investment and global scalability.
Highlighting the growing convergence of sports science and manufacturing innovation, Khadse noted that fields such as sports analytics, wearable technology, biomechanics, recovery science and AI-driven performance monitoring are opening new avenues for sports-focused startups in India.
The summit themed ‘Industry Acceleration Edition’ brought startups, MSMEs, researchers, corporates and government stakeholders on a common platform to fast-track technology-based enterprise development.
Khadse emphasised that the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, through initiatives such as Startup India, Digital India, Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat, is creating a strong foundation for a self-reliant and innovation-driven economy aligned with the goal of Viksit Bharat-2047. She noted that the summit serves as a launchpad for startups in emerging sectors, including robotics, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, green energy, advanced manufacturing, defence technology and agri-technology.
Special emphasis was placed on strengthening startups in tier-II and tier-III regions across the Haryana-NCR industrial corridor, enabling regional entrepreneurship to connect with national and global markets.
Highlighting the government’s enabling ecosystem, Khadse said initiatives such as the Atal Innovation Mission under NITI Aayog, along with Startup India and public-private acceleration platforms, were providing funding support of up to Rs 50 lakh, incubation facilities, mentorship and market linkages.
She added that the Union Budget has further strengthened support for research and development, deep-tech innovation, semiconductor manufacturing, expanded credit guarantees for startups and MSMEs, and green growth initiatives.
The summit, supported by leading incubation and technology transfer institutions and global companies, demonstrated a strong model of public-private collaboration.
It offers young entrepreneurs guidance on intellectual property, funding pathways, regulatory frameworks and product-market alignment.
The event was attended by Ashok Kumar, Vice-Chancellor, Sports University of Haryana; Dr Bipin Kumar, Associate Professor, IIT Delhi; TK Sundaramurthy, former Mission Director, ISRO; Shobhit Mathur, Vice-Chancellor, Rishihood University; and Prof Samuel Raj, Registrar & Director, SRM University.
MoS Khadse also expressed her appreciation for the role of Alok Pandey, CEO, Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) IIT Delhi.
