Union Minister inaugurates Common Incubation Centre at IIT-Tirupati 

A Common Incubation Centre (CIC) at the Indian Institute of Technology-Tirupati (IIT-Tirupati) was inaugurated via virtual mode by Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Chirag Paswan on Thursday.

Srikalahasti MLA Bojjala Venkata Sudhir Reddy, District Collector S. Venkateswar, Devesh Deval, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Chiranjiv Choudhary, Secretary (Food Processing), Government of Andhra Pradesh, and K.N. Satyanarayana, Director, IIT Tirupati formalised the inaugural by lighting a lamp.

The objective of the CIC is to support and nurture entrepreneurial initiatives in Chittoor and Tirupati regions, particularly in the food processing sector. The facility would cater to value addition and processing of the produce which is locally available in abundant quantities such as tomatoes and mangoes, and other agri-based commodities.

In his welcome address, Prof. Satyanarayana emphasized on the centre’s relevance in propelling regional economic growth. The incubation centre was designed to cater to the needs of rural entrepreneurs and start-ups in the food processing domain, he added.

IIT-Tirupati has already spent ₹3.95 crore on the facility i.e., ₹2.75 crore funded by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) and ₹1.20 crore from its own resources.

“To complete the centre and equip it comprehensively, an additional ₹60 lakh is required. We seek the support of the Government to ensure Andhra Pradesh has a fully equipped and operational CIC for the benefit of aspiring entrepreneurs,” the Director said.

Mr. Paswan delivered the keynote address and lauded the efforts of IIT-Tirupati in establishing the incubation centre and highlighted the Union Government’s resolve towards promoting value addition and entrepreneurship in the food processing sector.