BITS Pilani has emerged as India’s leading institution for deep-tech entrepreneurship, with its alumni founding 140 deep-tech companies — the highest among Indian colleges. The institute has outperformed IIT Bombay (136) and IIT Delhi (113), according to data shared by BITS Group Vice Chancellor Ramgopal Rao.
The ranking places IIT Kharagpur (91), IIT Kanpur (90), IIT Madras (79), Indian School of Business (51), IIT Roorkee (44), Anna University (41), and IIM Ahmedabad (35) among the top institutions producing deep-tech startups in the country.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP CULTURE BUILT OVER DECADES
Speaking to PTI, BITS Group Vice Chancellor Ramgopal Rao, on July 19, said the institute’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is the result of decades of nurturing innovation and giving students the freedom to explore ideas beyond academics.
“We are strengthening this further in a variety of ways. Students have considerable academic flexibility and the space to pursue ideas outside the classroom. The New Venture Creation course then provides a more structured path,” Rao told PTI.
Rao explained that the course takes students through every stage of building a startup — from identifying a problem and validating it with customers to developing a minimum viable product, understanding finance, legal compliance and fundraising, while working with experienced entrepreneurs as mentors.
INTERDISCIPLINARY LEARNING DRIVING INNOVATION
Rao said one of BITS Pilani’s biggest strengths is its flexible academic structure, which allows students to pursue interdisciplinary degrees. He noted that students can combine engineering with science disciplines such as chemistry, physics, mathematics or biological sciences, encouraging them to think across domains.
Rao said many of today’s biggest breakthroughs lie at the intersection of multiple disciplines, whether in drug discovery, climate technology or artificial intelligence. Such exposure helps students identify opportunities that may be missed through conventional single-discipline education, states PTI.
INDIA MUST BUILD SCIENCE-LED COMPANIES
Rao also stressed that India cannot become a global innovation hub by relying on technologies developed elsewhere. Instead, universities must create companies based on research and intellectual property generated within the country.
He told PTI that India has significant opportunities in sectors such as semiconductors, healthcare, agriculture, space, energy, defence, artificial intelligence and advanced materials, but deep-tech ventures require patient capital and long-term support.
“A technology that succeeds under Indian conditions can often succeed anywhere in the world. The difficulty is that deep technology does not run on normal startup timelines,” Rao said adding that government and industry should support startups through testing facilities, certification and by becoming their early customers.
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