Building the Future STPI Global Partnerships & Startup Felicitation 2026

20 Feb 2026 13:00h - 14:00h

Building the Future STPI Global Partnerships & Startup Felicitation 2026

Session at a glanceSummary, keypoints, and speakers overview

Summary

The session, hosted by the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), brought together government officials, industry leaders, and startup founders to discuss building a robust AI startup ecosystem in India [1-9].


STPI’s Director of Startups and Innovation, Rakesh Dubey, outlined the STPI portal as a unique global platform that aggregates incubators, accelerators, policy repositories, contests, a product marketplace and a hiring hub, enabling startups to manage their entire lifecycle online [11-20].


Bala, Managing Director of Strat Infinity, highlighted that AI is projected to contribute $15.7 trillion globally by 2030, with India’s GCCs expected to generate $150 billion in software exports and employ 3.5 million people, underscoring the sector’s economic potential [36-42].


He argued that while model, compute and funding are essential, the true scale of AI depends on integration into global organisations, a gap that lies in institutionalising AI rather than technology itself [44-55].


According to Bala, Global Capability Centers (GCCs) can bridge this gap by providing real data, infrastructure and enterprise validation, and the co-creation model-where startups work within GCC sandboxes-reduces the pilot-to-production cycle and accelerates scaling [56-63].


He further noted that the GCC ecosystem creates a multiplier effect on skill development, revenue and software exports, and called for dedicated co-creation platforms led by bodies such as STPI to institutionalise this collaboration [64-70][75-76].


Geetika Dayal of Thai Delhi NCR emphasized five structural pillars-knowledge building, resource access, market validation, funding and responsible AI-as essential for scaling innovation, and said that coordinated partnerships among STPI, GCCs, government and corporates make scaling inevitable [102-107].


Neerja Sekhar of the National Productivity Council announced a memorandum of understanding with STPI and presented a three-part framework for startups-trust, testbeds and traction-to move from ideas to societal impact, and stressed that STPI’s hubs and NPC’s benchmarking will support this pathway [140-148][149-152][160-162].


Arvind Kumar, STPI’s Director General, described STPI’s network of 70 centres and 24 domain-specific entrepreneurship hubs that provide incubation, seed funding and market access, and warned that AI products must be safe, trusted, responsible and ethical to achieve scale [175-194].


The ceremony proceeded with the formal exchange of MOUs between STPI and NPC, and between STPI and Thai Delhi NCR, signalling a strategic partnership to accelerate AI productivity and ecosystem development [80-84].


A subsequent felicitation ceremony recognised a dozen startups for achievements in revenue, funding, employment, women participation and AI-driven impact, illustrating the tangible outcomes of the STPI support stack [214-276].


Selected founders, such as the co-founder of Fuselage Innovations and the team behind EZO5 Solutions, shared how STPI’s mentorship, funding assistance and regulatory guidance enabled them to scale drone-based agriculture solutions and AI-powered oncology diagnostics respectively [279-332].


The session concluded with a vote of thanks that highlighted the contributions of all speakers, the importance of collaborative ecosystem building, and the promise of continued growth for India’s AI startup landscape [353-368].


Overall, the discussion affirmed that coordinated policy, platform resources, GCC integration and co-creation models are critical to scaling AI innovation and delivering measurable economic and social benefits across India [102-107][140-148][64-70].


Keypoints


Major discussion points


STPI’s digital platform as a one-stop ecosystem enabler – The portal aggregates incubators, accelerators, policy repositories and hosts contests, while recent upgrades add a product marketplace and a hiring hub that let startups post jobs and showcase products to global audiences [11-19][20-21].


Global Capability Centers (GCCs) as the bridge for AI startups – GCCs are projected to generate ≈ $150 billion in software exports and employ 3.5 million people by 2030 [36-43]. Bala stresses that the real scale-up challenge is not AI models but integrating them into enterprises, a gap that GCCs can fill through co-creation, sandbox environments and faster pilot-to-production cycles [44-55][56-63][64-78].


Collaborative ecosystem pillars needed to scale innovation – Geetika outlines five structural pillars – knowledge & capability building, resource access, market validation, funding, and ethical/responsible AI – and argues that coordinated programs (joint accelerators, AI benchmarking, export readiness) are essential for sustainable growth [90-94][102-107].


Framework for trustworthy AI deployment – Neerja Sekhar proposes a three-part model-trust (privacy, security, accountability), testbeds (real-world sandboxes, reference architectures), and traction (moving from pilots to full-scale implementation)-as the key to turning AI ideas into societal impact [140-148].


Showcasing successful startups and their impact – The ceremony highlighted numerous startups (e.g., Fuselage Innovations, TectoCell, EZO5) that have leveraged STPI support to achieve revenue growth, funding milestones, employment generation, and real-world AI applications such as drone-enabled agriculture and AI-driven oncology diagnostics [214-276][279-287][292-299][332-338].


Overall purpose / goal of the discussion


The session was convened to “scale AI innovation and build a robust AI startup ecosystem” by bringing together government, industry, GCCs, and startup founders, sharing strategic insights, formalising partnerships (e.g., the STPI-NPC MOU) and celebrating concrete startup achievements [1][9][123-124].


Overall tone and its evolution


– The meeting opens with a formal, courteous welcome from STPI leadership [1][2].


– It shifts to an optimistic, forward-looking industry perspective when Bala describes the AI-driven economic transformation [31-38].


– The tone becomes collaborative and policy-focused during the government and TI remarks on ecosystem pillars [82-89][102-107].


– A celebratory, appreciative tone dominates the felicitation segment, highlighting startup successes [214-218][279-287][332-338].


– It concludes with a grateful, unifying note of thanks and encouragement for continued partnership [353-360].


Overall, the discussion maintains a consistently positive and constructive tone, moving from informational briefings to inspirational calls for collaboration, and culminating in a celebratory acknowledgment of achievements.


Speakers

Shelly Sharma – Deputy Director, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI); Host/Moderator of the session and presenter of startup felicitation ceremony.


Vaani Kapoor – Manager, STPI; Co-host of the session, introduced speakers and facilitated agenda.


Sh. Rakesh Dubey – Director, Startups and Innovation, STPI; Delivered the opening address and highlighted STPI’s digital platform and services.


Sh. Bala MS – CEO, Strat Infinity; Provided industry perspective on Global Capability Centers (GCCs) and their role in scaling AI startups. Expertise: GCCs, AI ecosystem, industry-academia collaboration. [S1][S2]


Arvind Kumar – Director General, STPI; Gave the keynote address outlining STPI’s nationwide presence and the importance of safe, trusted, responsible AI.


Ms. Geetika Dayal – Director General, Thai Delhi NCR (STPI partner); Discussed mentorship, acceleration, and ecosystem support for startups.


Ms. Neerja Sekhar – IAS, Director General, National Productivity Council (NPC); Presented the special address on productivity, trust, testbeds, and traction for AI startups. Expertise: Productivity, AI policy, ecosystem scaling. [S14][S15]


Arita Dalan – Regional Head (North), SecureTech IT Solutions Private Limited; Spoke on cybersecurity solutions and STPI’s role in industry connections. Expertise: Cybersecurity, enterprise-startup collaboration. [S16][S17]


Dr. Soumya – Founder, TectoCell; Presented the startup journey focusing on AI-powered diagnostic solutions in radiology and DNA sequencing. Expertise: AI in healthcare, diagnostics.


Devika Chandrasekaran – Co-founder, Fuselage Innovations; Shared the startup story on drone technology for agriculture, defence, and disaster management. Expertise: Drone tech, agritech, defence applications. [S5][S6]


Kirty Datar – Representative, Caneboard Solutions Private Limited; Highlighted deep-tech positioning and STPI’s credibility boost for the company. Expertise: Deep-tech, startup scaling. [S21]


Milind Datar – Representative, Caneboard Solutions Private Limited; (No specific role details provided).


Meenal Gupta – Founder, EZO5 Solutions; Described AI-driven oncology treatment planning platform “Imagix AI”. Expertise: AI in oncology, precision medicine.


Noor Fatma – Co-founder, EZO5 Solutions; Co-presented the EZO5 journey and impact on healthcare diagnostics. Expertise: AI healthcare, imaging analytics. [S31]


Praveen Kumar – Joint Director, STPI; Delivered the vote of thanks and presented mementos to dignitaries.


Praveen Kumar – (also listed as “Praveen Kumar” in the speakers list; same person).


Additional speakers:


Ashok Gupta – Director, STPI Gurugram; Presented mementos during the ceremony.


Sanjay Gupta – Senior Director, STPI; Invited to grace the dais and participated in the MOU exchange.


Atul Kumar Singh – Additional Director, STPI; Presented mementos to dignitaries and participated in the ceremony.


Rakesh Dubey – (already listed above).


Sanjay Gupta – (already listed above).


Ashok Gupta – (already listed above).


Atul Kumar Singh – (already listed above).


Praveen Kumar – (already listed above).


Other dignitaries (e.g., “DG Sir” and “DG Ma’am” references) were mentioned but not identified by name in the provided speakers list.


Full session reportComprehensive analysis and detailed insights

The session opened with a formal welcome from Shelly Sharma, Deputy Director of the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), who thanked the dignitaries, industry leaders and the audience for joining a discussion on “Scaling Innovation, Building a Robust AI Startup Ecosystem” [1-2]. Vaani Kapoor, STPI Manager, then introduced the chief guest, Ms Neerja Shekhar, IAS, Director-General of the National Productivity Council, and outlined the agenda of bringing together government, industry and the startup community to deliberate on a future-ready AI landscape [3-10].


Rakesh Dubey, Director of Start-ups and Innovation at STPI, used the opening address to showcase the STPI digital portal as a one-of-its-kind, global-scale platform that aggregates incubators, accelerators, policy documents and contest management [11-13]. He highlighted that the portal also hosts contests from any incubator worldwide and acts as a repository of government policies [14-16], and described recent upgrades – a product marketplace where startups can exhibit offerings and a hiring hub that matches niche talent with startup needs – stressing that the portal supports the entire startup lifecycle online, with further features continuously being added [11-20].


Following Dubey’s remarks, Vaani Kapoor played a short audio-visual presentation titled “STPI Startup Ecosystem – Drive Impact”, which illustrated how the portal and related programmes translate innovation into measurable outcomes across the country [26-29].


The industry perspective was then delivered by Sh. Bala M.S., Managing Director of Strat Infinity. He projected that AI could contribute roughly $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, of which about $5 trillion would stem from productivity gains [36-40]. For India, he forecasted the emergence of more than 3 500 Global Capability Centres (GCCs) by 2030 – up from 1 900 today – generating an estimated $150 billion in software exports and employing 3.5 million engineers [41-43]. He added that approximately 40-50 % of GCC activity is focused on R&D [55-57]. Bala argued that the true scale-up challenge is not the AI model, compute power or funding per se, but the integration of AI into global organisations; the gap lies in institutionalising AI rather than in the technology itself [44-55]. He proposed that the co-creation model is the only model currently enabling AI startups to embed their solutions within GCCs, providing sandbox environments, domain expertise and production-grade pathways [56-63] and creating a multiplier effect on skill development, revenue and software exports [64-70].


Ms Geetika Dayal, Director-General of Thai Delhi NCR, reinforced the need for a coordinated ecosystem. She identified five structural pillars for scaling innovation – knowledge and capability building, resource access, market validation, funding, and ethical/responsible AI – and called for joint accelerators, expanded “Samarth” programmes, corporate challenge initiatives and AI-benchmarking reports to move beyond isolated efforts [90-98][102-107]. Dayal also highlighted the “Deep Ahead” and “Samark” programmes as specific initiatives to accelerate adoption [95-97].


Representing the National Productivity Council, Ms Neerja Shekhar announced a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with STPI and presented a three-part framework for AI startups: (i) trust – encompassing privacy, cyber-security, transparency and accountability; (ii) testbeds – real-world sandboxes, reference architectures and labs; and (iii) traction – converting pilots into full-scale deployments [140-148]. She framed this as the “Three Sutras of People, Planet and Progress” [150-152], positioning STPI’s nationwide hubs and NPC’s benchmarking capability as the “trust-testbed-traction” pathway that will accelerate responsible digital transformation across MSMEs, clusters and AI-driven startups [149-152][160-162].


Arvind Kumar, Director-General of STPI, provided a complementary view of STPI’s physical footprint, noting 70 centres (including 24 domain-specific entrepreneurship hubs) across Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities that deliver incubation, seed funding, market access and ancillary services such as BAPT, network-security, data-centres and cloud-services in PPP models [165-168][165-180]. He warned that AI products must be safe, trusted, responsible and ethical to achieve scale, distinguishing “responsible” AI (fairness, accountability, bias-free outcomes) from “ethical” AI (environmental stewardship, job creation) and underscoring accountability – for example, who is liable if an autonomous vehicle causes an accident [191-199].


The ceremony then moved to the formal exchange of MoUs. After Vaani’s invitation, Shri Ashok Gupta (STPI, Gurugram) and Shri Nikhil Panchabai (NPC) signed the first MoU, followed by a second agreement between STPI and Thai Delhi NCR signed by Shri Sanjay Gupta and Ms Dayal [207-214]. These agreements symbolised a strategic partnership aimed at jointly scaling AI productivity and ecosystem development [80-84].


Subsequently, the startup felicitation ceremony recognised a dozen enterprises, grouped by award category:


* Revenue – Phoenix Marine Exports (₹25 cr) and Suhora Technologies (₹50 cr)


* Funding – Vimeo Consulting (₹25 cr) and Puvation Technology Solutions (₹50 cr)


* Employment generation – Swada Agri and Mobile Pay E-Commerce


* Women-employment – Strangify Technologies


* AI-impact – Sequera Tech and Devnagri AI


* Innovation – Dactrosel Healthcare, EZO5 Solutions (promising) and Connector Foods (second-place)


All awards were presented by senior dignitaries, underscoring the tangible outcomes of STPI’s support stack [214-276].


Founders then shared their journeys. Devika Chandrasekaran, co-founder of Useless Innovations, recounted how participation in STPI’s “Scout 2021” programme provided early validation and confidence, enabling the company to manufacture drones for agriculture, defence and disaster-management, serving over 10 000 farmers and earning a National Startup Award presented to the Prime Minister [279-281][282-287]. Dr Soumya of TectoCell described AI-powered diagnostic solutions that combine radiology, DNA sequencing and drug-resistance analysis, crediting STPI’s regulatory guidance, data-access facilitation and global collaboration for enabling a rapid scale-up from India to the world stage [292-299]. Arita Dalal of SecureTech highlighted the firm’s end-to-end cybersecurity offerings for sectors ranging from pharma to banking, and thanked STPI for mentorship, investor connections and industry linkages that have bolstered the company’s market reach [304-312][315-320]. Kirty Datar added that STPI’s recognition has strengthened his startup’s credibility with customers, investors and government stakeholders [323-325]. Finally, Noor Fatma and Meenal Gupta of EZO5 Solutions explained how their AI-driven oncology treatment-planning platform (“Imagix AI”) processed over one million scans, identified thousands of TB and lung-cancer cases, and, after a critical cash-flow crunch, received STPI’s assistance to raise capital, leading to rapid adoption, a meeting with the Prime Minister and interest from Bill Gates and Microsoft [329-338].


The session concluded with a formal vote of thanks by Praveen Kumar, who thanked all speakers, dignitaries and founders, reiterated the importance of collaborative ecosystem building, and invited everyone for a group photograph [353-368].


Across the discussion, a strong consensus emerged that scaling AI innovation in India hinges on coordinated collaboration among STPI, GCCs, the National Productivity Council and industry partners; on building trust through privacy, security, transparency and accountability; and on providing concrete testbeds and co-creation sandboxes to bridge the gap between prototype and production [140-148][44-55][56-63][102-107].


However, speakers diverged on the primary bottleneck. Bala argued that the integration gap – the lack of institutional pathways for embedding AI into global organisations – is the chief obstacle [44-55], whereas Arvind Kumar stressed that without responsible and ethical AI – particularly fairness and clear accountability – startups cannot gain the trust needed for scale [191-199].


Suggested next steps mentioned by speakers included: Bala’s call for co-creation platforms that provide GCC sandboxes [56-63]; Dayal’s appeal for joint accelerators, scaling up the Samarth programme and producing AI-benchmarking reports [95-103]; Dubey’s push to continue enriching the STPI portal with additional marketplace and hiring functionalities [11-20]; Kumar’s emphasis on leveraging the physical network of 70 incubation centres [165-180]; the NPC-STPI MoU’s “trust-testbed-traction” pathway [140-148]; and the joint IP framework that is currently under discussion [75-76].


In summary, the summit demonstrated that India’s AI startup ecosystem is moving from isolated pilots to a coordinated, multi-layered support system that combines a unique digital portal, an extensive physical incubation network, GCC-driven co-creation sandboxes and clear governance frameworks for trust, testbeds and traction. By aligning policy, infrastructure and market-access levers, the stakeholders aim to translate AI-driven innovation into measurable economic growth, productivity gains and societal benefits across the nation [102-107][140-148][64-70][S1][S2].


Session transcriptComplete transcript of the session
Shelly Sharma

Good afternoon, everyone. On behalf of Software Technology Parks of India, I extend a very warm welcome to all the dignitaries on Dias and the entire audience to today’s session on Scaling Innovation, Building a Robust AI Startup Ecosystem. I am Shelly Sharma, Deputy Director, STPI, and it is my privilege to host this session.

Vaani Kapoor

Good afternoon, everyone. I am Vani Kapoor, Manager, STPI, your co -host for the session. May I now begin by respectfully welcoming our guests. Our distinguished dignitaries on the Dias. Our chief guest for today, Ms. Neerja Shekhar, IAS Director General, National Productivity Council. Sri Arvind Kumar sir, Director General, STPI Sri Rakesh Dubey sir, Director, Startup and Innovation, STPI Sri Bala MS, CEO, Strat Infinity and Ms. Geetika Dayal, Director General, Thai Delhi NCR and all other senior officials, ecosystem partners, startup founders and delegates present here today. We are truly honored by your presence. Today’s session brings together government, industry and the startup ecosystem to deliberate on building a future -ready AI innovation landscape while also celebrating startups that have demonstrated measurable impact across revenue, employment and business.

Government, innovation and inclusion. without further ado may I now invite Sri Rakesh Dubia sir director startup and innovation to kindly deliver the opening address sir please

Sh. Rakesh Dubey

incubators, accelerators, even state governments, academia, everyone can come to this platform and find the resources that they need here. This platform also serves as a repository of various government policies that come from time to time. It also serves as a platform where contests of not just STPI, but any incubator anywhere in India or even the world can host their contest, get their application invited, get the results published after screening and evaluation, and further handhold that startup’s entire life cycle online. This portal is, I think, one of its kind portal, not just in India, but across the world. It is a very valuable thing, and we are adding more and more features to it as time go.

For example, we have added features like a product marketplace as well as a hiring hub on it, using which a startup wanting a niche management, can post its requirement and individuals can apply against it. An individual wanting to look for a niche job can post his resume here and probably a startup can pick it up. It also has a feature called product marketplace in which any startup can post its product for anyone to see. And if any viewer finds interest in it, the two can interact together via this platform. That being said, the STPI is always looking for doing more and more things to support the innovation and startups across India as well as the world.

And we will be welcome to hear any thoughts from you. And there are many experts lined up. I am sure you will hear many more learnings from them also. With that, I thank you everyone and hope to see you. Thank you very much.

Vaani Kapoor

Thank you so much, sir, for setting the context so beautifully and highlighting STPI’s growing national impact. now may I request the technical team to play the short audio video presentation titled STPI Startup Ecosystem Drive Impact STPI Startup Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, team. That gives us a powerful snapshot of how innovation is translating into real outcome across the country. Now to share insights from the industry and global capability center perspective, may I now invite Shree Bala, MSCO, Strat Infinity. Please come.

Sh. Bala MS

Very good afternoon. Namaste. Dr. DG, DIG, LPC, DG, hi. Good friend here, Rakesh. And everyone, very good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity. Scaling innovation, building a robust AI, the perspective from GCC is going to… be phenomenal. We are not just living through the AI wave. We are rather living in the AI restructuring of global economy. If you look at the overall, if you look at the AI contribution, about 15 .7 trillion dollars by 2030 globally, whereas close to about 5 trillion dollars are going to be in productivity. That is an enormous opportunity. If you look at India by 2030, almost there is going to be 3 ,500 plus GCC, which is about 1 ,900 today now, and going to contribute about close to 150 billion dollar of software exports, and it is going to be 3 .5 million employees dedicatedly working for global capability center.

That is the very high level statistics for 2030. These are not just employment statistics, my dear friend, but this more like enterprise grade innovation, innovation, infrastructure at a national scale. Right. That said, if you look at AI leadership globally, most conversation comes on three things. Right. First thing is the model that we are building. Second thing comes the power, the compute power. The third thing may come under the funding perspective. Nothing wrong about it. All these three things are important. But in my experience working with a global organization, the scale is not determined by the AI you build. The scale is determined by the way how your AI gets integrated to the global organization. That’s where today the fundamental gap is all about.

And if you look at the real competitive advantage, in fact, the experimentation is really abundant today. But institutionalization is really limited. So that is where the real challenge and gap comes from. And the GCC component steps in this point. This is an inflection point in my view. If you look at the transformation. GCC has about from 1900 plus GCC are there in the country today and it was those days it was more looked at as a cost center or a labor arbitrage center but today it is more for the engineering centers, R &D centers if you look at more than 50 % of the or 40 % of the India’s GCC is more on R &D today the emerging technologies like AI, cyber security product development lot of new things have been developed out of the global organization now India is considered to be a digital talent center for the global organization which is not tactical but it’s truly very very strategical my dear friends.

If you look at the startup ecosystem that’s where the main thing comes from the venture capital, the investors STPI and lot of government organizations played a phenomenal role in making sure the grants are given which is very good very very important that accelerates the AI innovation, lot of fundings have come but capital alone cannot solve this friction that’s very very important one capital cannot solve the friction in fact when you look at global surveys in the recent AI study report that shows majority of the enterprises are piloting AI but only minority have scaled across the business units and the gap is not the technology problem it’s not a technology gap it is an operational readiness it is an organizational readiness that’s the biggest gap it’s not the technological capability so having said that if you look at any AI tools when you get into any organization the startups comes from across India you need to pass on through the risk you need to pass on through the compliance security the fitment the global workflow design lot of challenges that you come across again that is where the GCC component comes in because working with a global organization the enterprise organizations are totally different you can’t even think of one said we say India has lot of startups and we are phenomenally doing well at the same time the market access to the global organizations are really big question mark that’s where the GCC component comes in why the GCC matters for the startup it matters a lot here is the thing right so today what is needed for AI startup companies right you need a real data set you need a real infrastructure capability you need to have the enterprise validation so who is going to give that who is going to trust your model and put it in their system that’s the biggest question mark again that is where the GCC comes in where it is going to be the bridge between the startup ecosystem and the enterprise organization because you are going to work within the ecosystem within the infrastructure capabilities of the GCC that gives the confidence the enterprises to try you test you work with you and this is something important right today sorry yeah so this is something very important co -creation model so there were days where the startups were looked as vendors or suppliers but today the co -creation model is very very powerful in fact my personal experience from stat infinity for as you see 24 plus COEs are then STP we’ve been working with the fin blue we’ve been working with the ICOE where the global capability centers work with us through the STPI.

They’re able to identify a phenomenal startup and startup scaling for the global organization. So the co -creation model is the only model in our context how the startups, AI startups can get into the global capability centers because they provide the control sandbox, they provide a domain expertise, they provide a production grade environment gateways, pathways which basically helps to reduce the pilot to production cycle which globally remains, which is the basic bottleneck of any AI startup is that pilot to production. That can be solved by the co -creation model my dear friends. And coming back to that global why India is unique today, right? The economic multiplier effect. See, anything that comes into the GCC, the ecosystem grows, the value chain grows, the skill development happens, right?

And it generates a lot of revenue. Of course, the software exports increases. So a lot of possibilities, not just having one employee that indirectly helps many people to grow that. So that is where India is unique and the GCC ecosystem is going to make a phenomenal impact. And institutionalization the model. What must happen next is if you look at the global comparison again India plays a phenomenal role in terms of the GCC density the talent and also the local ecosystem connect even with the things like STPI working on the GCC policy so lot of such ecosystem connects truly helps the global capability centers to adapt the AI ecosystem and make it. Why the strategic partnership is very important.

What must happen next is something very important. The co -creation platforms have to be formed. So especially the organizations like STPI are the real right organizations to build this co -creation platform and build an enterprise sandbox which is already there in the COEs but it has to be nurtured for the GCC perspective. one of the large US multinational banks have done the FinBlue in Chennai COE which has gained the phenomenal success making sure the FinTech COE under the SCPI have factored to the global ecosystem global large multinational bank has benefited out of that that’s where and joint IP framework that’s another important thing which is still under discussion but definitely it’s getting into a better space with that said I just wanted to submit upon one aspect which is the broader reflection right today startups create innovation velocity whereas enterprise creates scale and between these two the global capability centers are the pathways for building between the innovation velocity and the enterprise scale because that helps you to get the pathway to navigate the challenges that you get in the global enterprise ecosystem and be working in the GCC’s that helps to get your product or take your service, use it locally in the environment of global ecosystem, get the acceptance even if it doesn’t work, it fails fast, nothing is going to harm the GCC or the global organization.

That’s where the opportunity through the GCCs are truly evolving to work for your AI products to the larger ecosystem. Thank you so much. Jai Hind, Jai Bharat.

Vaani Kapoor

Thank you, sir, for your valuable industry perspective and for highlighting the role of GCCs in nurturing startups. Next, may I invite Ms. Geetika Dayal, DG Thai Delhi NCR, to address the audience on the entrepreneurial and startup ecosystem.

Ms. Geetika Dayal

My warm greetings to the dignitaries on the dial. Thank you so much, Arvindji, for this opportunity. And to you and to your entire team for, I know, countless hours of effort that have gone into this massive exercise of putting this program together from which all of us are benefiting. A very good afternoon, friends. We are gathered at probably one of the most important AI policy and innovation programs or platforms that our country has seen. And this summit truly represents the national ambition at its strongest and very best. But it is the dialogue and this session that we are doing here today that will help realize this ambition, help execute this ambition. All the discussions that have gone on for the last few days around AI policy, national strategy, global competitiveness, etc.

They must translate into real support for startup founders who are building AI products. And that translation only happens through the kind of ecosystems that we build together. I think India’s landscape is expanding very rapidly, making it among the top three global AI ecosystems. But it’s not numbers that actually build scale. It will be these kind of programs and innovation ecosystems that come together to make that happen. At Thai Delhi NCR, we’ve been at the forefront of mentoring and accelerating, working closely with startup founders. And over the last few years, we’ve worked with many of them to help them bridge the gap from innovation to market readiness. What we learned is that some of the areas where startups struggle are areas around business capability, around market access, around access to patient capital.

And therefore, our approach focuses on primarily these levers. which provides deep mentorship from entrepreneurs who’ve already scaled globally, market access with enterprises and GCCs, as you just heard, investor access through various funding stages, and structured capability building for our founder. STPI, of course, over the last, you know, more than two decades, 25 years and more, has done such remarkable work and played a great role in actually creating infrastructure and incubation support, a strong policy alignment, a massive pan -India presence and regulatory and institutional strength. And therefore, together, we really create the complete support stack for founders. And this has been demonstrated by the success of some of our key initiatives around Deep Ahead or Samark, etc., which really helped us to create a strong policy alignment.

And it really shows, it proves that collaboration does multiply outcomes as we work together on it. also I think there are certain strengths that India has which are raw ingredients for what we are all working towards now some of that is world class technical talent that comes from our premier institutions, cost effective innovation which is probably around 30 -40 % lower than operational costs in Silicon Valley strong public digital infrastructure as well as policy momentum to India AI mission and what we are seeing now so we must use all of that and bridge the gap around access to data, compute, infrastructure etc. but the collaboration that we are really excited about is the one with STPI which demonstrates how complementary skills when they come together can create real impact.

I think what we feel is that there are five structural pillars that are needed for scaling innovation. This is around knowledge and capability building, resource access market validation, funding access as well as well as of course ethical and responsible AI which our Prime Minister has been talking about and I think these kind of ecosystem collaborations and organizations they act as trust bridges which reduces the friction between government, startups, corporates and investors so I think as we move ahead we are very keen to work and to see how we can move out of the format of isolated programs and come together to create coordinated strategy there are certain immediate priorities that we can definitely work on this would be around expanding joint accelerators scaling up Samarth which has been going on so beautifully many more corporate challenge programs export readiness and perhaps AI benchmarking reports etc.

What we’d love to see is how AI startup ecosystems thrive, not by competition, but by collaboration. And as you’ve seen over here, to build a robust ecosystem when STPI, TI, GCCs, government, corporates, etc., come together with a shared vision, scale becomes inevitable. And that is what we are all here for, scaling innovation. Today, when we sign an MOU with STPI, it amplifies the impact and relevance, and it is a great pleasure and a great matter of privilege and pride for TI to work with STPI as a key enabler and a partner. So our very best wishes to all of you. As Rakeshji mentioned, these are times of great change, probably something that our generation has been very fortunate to see where we were and what we are heading towards.

And for all of us, to play a small role in what the years ahead will bring is really a humbling experience. It’s a great opportunity to be here. And my congratulations to all of you and my thank you for having all of us together here. Thank you so much.

Vaani Kapoor

Thank you, ma ‘am, for sharing Ty’s remarkable journey and continued commitment to entrepreneurs. May I now invite Ms. Nija Shekhar, Director General, National Productivity Council, for her special address. Ma

Ms. Neerja Sekhar

‘am, please. Good afternoon to you all. It’s a delight to be here at the AI Impact Summit. And specifically in this session, being hosted by the Software Technology Program, Park of India, where they have invited the National Productivity Council, who I represent, Ty, and other partners together, the GCC partners together. we are all talking about scaling AI innovation through the startup system. My warm greetings to everyone, to our ecosystem partners, industrial leaders, GCCs, mentors, investors and the startup founders who are also here as we work together on our next growth journey of innovation and AI impact. Anchored in the seven chakras of human capital, I am talking about the event that is anchored in the seven chakras of human capital, inclusion for social empowerment, safe and trusted AI, science, resilience, innovation and efficiency, democratizing AI resources and AI for economics.

Economic development and social growth. and the Three Sutras of People, Planet and Progress. This summit is focusing very effectively on a development -oriented framework for artificial intelligence. Today’s special session, where we are discussing the national imperative of scaling AI innovation, we will exchange a memorandum of understanding with STPI, NPC, and STPI have planned and pledged to work together for scaling this AI innovation, support the AI startup ecosystem in the country, and also to bring together innovation and collaboration. Because we know this is… This is not the era of competition. It’s an era of collaboration, where we have to put our energies together. and focus on areas that impact the population for good. This diffusion at scale across sectors, value chains, MSMEs, clusters, and public services.

This is what we are looking at. NPC, the National Productivity Council, works for productivity in the entire economic sector in the country. So we work on the total factor productivity, labor, land, infrastructure, capital. We support these areas and bring every player, make every player a part of the larger growth in the Indian economy. And manufacturing is a major focus area. Services, of course, but manufacturing. Because we know that that is where the employment is. And that is where. And the maximum exports also are growing. going to grow in the future. And of course, it is also going to maximize the GDP in the country. We’ve seen in this Expo area, we’ve seen many small AI applications, many of which are from the startups, working on areas of agriculture, health, some very, very interesting innovations on health and education, which is something very, very dear to all of us.

In areas like textiles, pharmaceuticals, etc. The question now is, how do we reliably move from ideas to impact and be meaningful to the society under the overall theme of welfare of all and happiness of all? Let me offer a crisp three -part framework for startups and ecosystem builders, which is trust, testbeds, and and traction. Trust is the entry ticket. If customers can’t trust our AI, they will not adopt it, on a scale not at least. So trust brings privacy and cyber security by design, transparency, accountability. It also means operational reliability and responsible governance. Testbeds. This will bridge the promise and proof. Startups need real world sandboxes. Labs, testing environments, applications, reference architectures, etc. And traction is what turns pilots into scale.

Not just a demo, but actual implementation. So we feel that the STPI will bring the ecosystem together and play a pivotal national role by bringing the industry a connected innovation landscape through their entire setup of innovation hubs, platforms, structured programs, centers of excellence across the country and their digital enablement frameworks. They have very successfully over a period of time connected mentors, labs, startups and resolved the challenges facing the startups leading them to larger markets. So their ecosystem of shifting from incubation to scalable infrastructure has seen very good days and we are going to see much much more success in the future. NPC’s role is to strengthen infrastructure. In the adoption spine of this ecosystem. productivity, quality, capability and industry alignment.

In the AI era, productivity is not just efficiency in land, labour and capital, but also reliability, repeatability, safety, security and responsible performance. Everything at scale. Startups scale faster when they can demonstrate measurable outcomes. Better output, better quality, fewer defects, faster service delivery, better customer experience, end -to -end experience and success. NPC supports this outcomes -driven pathway through benchmarking. We are very good at creating models, frameworks, assessment assessments and assessments, evaluations and providing a platform for the industries, MSMAs or the sector wise platforms are very well developed by NPC. This is an area many of you would have maybe if you are not associated with NPC you would know many people who worked with NPC, moved out in the economy, in the consultancy sector, in the evaluation sector and worked through benchmarking, capacity building and spreading of the productivity culture.

That’s why the partnership that we are looking at with STPI, between STPI and NPC is very timely, very strategic and we feel it will accelerate responsible digital transformation. And EA adoption. especially for MSMEs, clusters, industry ecosystems and RAI startups. We are really looking forward to a partnership where we can bring in more productivity into the ecosystem and today’s summit is a context that provides us and asks us and exhorts us to reorient our energies towards a more productive AI system that is scalable, that supports the AI startups and also has a very productive

Vaani Kapoor

Thank you, ma ‘am, for your inspiring words and for reinforcing the importance of productivity and capability development. Now, I would sincerely request our DG sir, Sri Arvind Kumarji, to kindly enlighten the audience with the keynote address.

Arvind Kumar

Hello, namaskar. Good afternoon. I think this, when such session happens with Expo, it’s very difficult to have the attendance. Since morning, I am fighting for this only, who is speaking, kindly ensure that attendance is there. But here, there is no problem with attendance. So, organizer, thank you very much. I think you did a wonderful job. The Expo is going on. still we have the full attendance, people are standing also there. Neerja ma ‘am, other dignities on the dais. I think there are a lot of other business pending, some felicitations and all right. So just those who are not familiar with STPI, two minutes about STPI, two minutes about the subject and then I will end.

So STPI has 70 centers across the country where we provide incubation to all small IT companies. These centers are generally in tier 2, tier 3 cities. So we have 62 centers in tier 2, tier 3 cities. Apart from the 70 centers, we have 24 centers of entrepreneurship which are domain specific wherein we provide at least 60 degree support to start -up. We nurture them. We provide some seed fund to them. we provide global reach to them, we provide market access to them and of course incubation to them. So this is what the STPI is doing when it comes to startup and all. Other things we are also doing like BAPT, network security, data centers, cloud services in PPP partners. So lot of things are doing just for that STPI domain.

Now as far as this topic is scaling innovation is concerned, so I mean there is a big change when there is no concept of startup in the country. We used to call it MSMEs and those MSMEs are generally meant for supporting the big companies, especially PSUs. They create something, then merge with either PSUs or they provide some product which is a product for something as input to PSUs or the big organization. Now this change of the startup and with support by the government to the startup has changed the whole landscape. Now startup can themselves scale their product. This is the change which you can see in last 5 to 6 years. And if you really want to scale up your innovation, then what is actually required for the startup, that is that product or that innovation should be safe and trusted.

Unless it is not trusted, nobody is going to use it and it is not going to scale up. Now how to make this trusted and safe, especially in the AI era? That means you have to make your product which is responsible and the product which also ethical. You have to make sure that the product is safe and trusted. only then people will have trust in it only then it can be scaled. Now people are generally confused between two words responsible and ethical. Though these two words are interconnected but different. When I say responsible or when I say ethical, though it is part of all five big parameters like we say it should be accountable, it should be secure, there has to be privacy, it has to be fairness.

These are five words we use. But difference just by examples, when you say something ethical, that means like as a CEO of the company because you are owner of the startup, whether you are taking care of environment or not, when you are producing your product. that is a part of ethical or when you are going to product whether you are taking care of the jobs creation or not this is a larger part this is your ethical attitude what I am going to do with the product when it comes to responsible responsible means fairness which means whether it is a not biased towards anything whether it’s not biased towards country whether it’s biased towards male female gender caste religion then it is a fair product and when I say responsibility it also means somebody should be accountable accountability is the very important part of the responsibility which means that suppose there is a car hit somebody in the road and the car is a driverless car now who is accountable for that accident whether the person who has purchased the car that is a person who has created that car name of the company or somebody who develops algorithm or the this is even the large language model which has been used by that very rappers.

So this is accountability. So unless you are not able to make something which is responsible ethical and therefore safe and trusted, it can’t be skilled. So all startups are there. They must ensure that whatever they are going to create today everybody is using UPI because they have able to create the trust among us. Lot of things came in this country. But now today biometric attendance or biometric identity has become scalable because they were able to create that this product is trusted, this product is safe. So any product which you are going to create whether the product is related to anything if you really want to innovate which is a very good thing and if this country has that opportunity, scale up anything we have population of 1 .4 billion and here scalability is very important.

and therefore if you really want to scale your product, you really want to scale your innovation, that must be safe and trusted. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Vaani Kapoor

Thank you so much, sir, for always encouraging, enlightening and guiding us throughout the journey. Now we begin with the MOU exchange ceremony. The first MOU between STPI and National Productivity Council May I request Sri Ashok Gupta, Sir, Director, STPI Gurugram to please come on the dais and Sri Nikhil Panchabai, Director, NPC to please come on the dais and exchange the MOU. I would also request DG Sir and DG Ma ‘am to grace the audience. Sanjay Sir, please come and grace the dais, please, Sir. Can we have a round of applause for Shri Sanjay Gupta sir, our Senior Director, STPI Thank you so much Sir, please be on the stage sir Shri Ashok Gupta sir, if you would like to The next demo you exchange is between STPI and Thai Delhi NCR For that may I request Shri Sanjay Gupta sir, Senior Director, STPI and Ms.

Geetika Dayal to please come forward and exchange the MOUs please Thank you Thank you. Thank you.

Shelly Sharma

So we now come to one of the most awaited segments, the startup felicitation ceremony. Today, we recognize startups supported under STPI ecosystem for excellence across revenue, funding, employment, women participation, innovation, and AI -led impact. I would like to request our Honor Dignitaries, DG Sir STPI and Nirja Shekhar Ma ‘am, Director General, National Productivity Council to kindly come forward to present the certificate and trophy to our startups. I request these startups to kindly come on the stage as per the name announced. So the first name is, may I invite Phoenix Marine Exports and Solutions Private Limited to come on the stage. They are being recognized under the category highest revenue up to 25 CR revenue and highest impact based on revenue tier 2 and tier 3 reason.

May I request DG STPI and DG NPC to please present the certificate and trophy. Once again, a big round of applause for their outstanding contribution. Now, may I invite Vimeo Consulting Private Limited to please come on the stage. They are being recognized for highest funding raised up to 25 CR revenue category. Heartiest congratulations on your fundraising success. A big round of applause. A louder round of applause, please. Now, may I invite Swada Agri Private Limited to the stage. Thank you, Judy. They are being felicitated for highest employment generation up to 25 CR revenue category. Congratulations for generating valuable employment. A big round of applause. Thank you. invite Strangify Technologies Pvt. Ltd. to please come on the stage.

They are being recognized for highest number of women employment up to 25 CR revenue category. Well done for empowering women in the workforce. A big round of applause. A louder round of applause for women participation. Now, our next startup is Suhora Technologies Pvt. Ltd. May I invite Suhora Technologies Pvt. Ltd. to the stage. They are being recognized for highest revenue up to 50 CR revenue category. Congratulations on your outstanding business performance. A big round of applause. Suhora Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Now I invite Puvation Technology Solutions Private Limited. They are being felicitated for highest funding raised up to 50 CR revenue category. Applause for your impressive funding milestone. A big round of applause. Now I invite our next startup, Sequera Tech IT Solutions Private Limited to come on the stage.

They are being recognized under multiple categories. so the categories are highest employment up to 50 CR revenue category highest women employment up to 50 CR revenue category highest AI based impact based on revenue a special recognition for excellence across multiple dimensions a big round of applause now I invite our next startup Atmik Bharat Industries Pvt. Ltd. to the stage they are being recognized for highest impact based on beneficiaries congratulations for touching countless lives a big round of applause May I invite Mobile Pay E -Commerce Private Limited. They are being validated for highest impact based on beneficiaries as a second position. Well done for your meaningful outreach. A big round of applause. Now I invite the another startup Devnagri AI Private Limited to please come on the stage.

They are being recognized for highest AI based impact based on revenue as a second position. Congratulations on leveraging AI for impact. A big round of applause. Thank you. Thank you so much, sir, DG, sir, for attending us. Now I invite our next startup, Dactrosel Healthcare and Research Private Limited. They are being recognized for most innovative startup. Applause for Breakthrough Healthcare Innovation. A big round of applause. Now I invite our next startup, EZO5 Solutions Private Limited. Please come on the stage. They are being felicitated as most promising innovation. Please, please A big round of applause Thank you Now I invite our next startup Connector Foods Private Limited. Please come on the stage for a beautiful couple.

They are being recognized as most innovative startup as a second position. Well done for creative excellence. A big round of applause. Finally, our last startup, may I invite Fuse Ledge Innovations Private Limited. They are being recognized as most promising innovation, second position. Congratulations on your forward -looking journey. A big round of applause. A big round of applause for all our felicitated startups. Your innovation, resilience and contribution to India’s digital economy truly inspire us all. May I request our dignitaries to kindly resume their seats on the dais. We will now invite our selected startups to briefly share their journey with us. So may I invite Fuselage Innovations, Private Limited, to kindly come on the

Devika Chandrasekaran

Hi everyone, my name is Devika Chandrasekaran. I’m the co -founder of Useless Innovations. It’s truly an honor to stand on a stage today being felicitated by STPI. This moment feels very special because we started our journey with STPI in our early days. Back in 2021, we participated in a program called Scout 2021. At that time, we were building our prototype. The support we received through the program was not just a funding, it’s a validation. That recognition gave us the confidence to push forward. We’re going to do it. Today, Fuselage Innovations manufactures drones in agriculture, defence, disaster management applications We are working with more than 10 ,000 farmers across India helping them to improve productivity, efficiency through drone technology We are also contributing to defence, disaster management and maritime operations serving critical national needs Last month, we were deeply honoured to receive National Startup Award and we got the opportunity to present our journey in front of our Honourable Prime Minister, Narendra Modi Sir I would like to sincerely thank STBI and everyone involved in the journey to believe a startup like us The ecosystem, the encouragement and the early trust that make a huge difference in our journey Thank you so much

Shelly Sharma

Thank you for sharing inspiring story. Now may I invite Dr. Rosals to kindly come on the stage and share your startup journey with us. Dr.

Dr. Soumya

Good evening, everyone. My name is Dr. Soumya, and I’m really glad to be a part of this prolific platform today. Just very quickly, I’d like to walk you through what we build. So at TectoCell, we build AI -powered diagnostic solutions at the intersection of radiology and artificial intelligence. And DNA sequencing, while addressing the huge havoc of drug resistance and robust clinical trials panning across India, facilitated by the software technology parks of India. We’ve been able to sort of exceptionally benchmark our accuracy, clinical accuracy, that sort of amplifies the reliability of our products. And the continued commitment of Software Technology Parks of India to sort of help us navigate through our regulatory compliances, get global collaborations, and also sort of get data acquisition, which is sort of machine readable, is extremely noteworthy.

And this unique foundation sort of puts us in a very good position, in a very strengthful position to now sort of scale this globally, building from India for the world. So I’m very grateful for this. Thank you.

Shelly Sharma

Thank you. Lots of applause. Thank you so much for sharing your story and journey with us. Now I invite Sequeira Tech IT Solutions Private Limited to come on the stage and share your startup journey with us.

Arita Dalan

Hi everyone. Good evening to everyone. So my name is Arita Dalal. I’m heading this region for North with SecureTech. I have been in this organization from the last 11 years. But during this journey, we have a lot of interaction with STPI as an organization. They are one of the nurturing body which has done a lot of collaboration in the industries as well. They are one of the bodies which has given us an opportunity to talk to the investors as well. And there are various industry connect as well that is being established by the organization. And we are very sincerely thankful to the entire organization and the team of STPI as well. Just to give you a brief about.

SecureTech is a cyber security organization in VR. Our mantra is to simplify security. We are touching, we are securing the security for the large enterprise organization, with size organization across the industry, whether it is pharma, banking finance organizations, or even the small organizations which are currently establishing the digital landscape in the country, while they are being regulated by large RBI and CBI. So, in nutshell, we are providing them all the frameworks, security parameters, and the solutions as well, so that they can be powered, they can be enabled, and they can secure their infrastructure platforms and the data that they are processing for the countries or for the users that they are providing services. So, whether it is a startup organization or even a large infrastructure organization, we are securing.

We are providing them end -to -end. Thank you. Thanks, everyone.

Shelly Sharma

Thank you. Now, I invite… Caneboard Solutions Private Limited to come on the stage and share your journey with us.

Kirty Datar

helping us sharpen our positioning as a deep tech company. Most importantly, STPI’s recognition has strengthened our credibility with customers, investors, and government stakeholders. We are very happy and very honored to be here today, and we thank you so much to STPI and everybody who is present here today.

Shelly Sharma

Thank you so very much. May I invite now EZO5 to kindly come on the stage and share your startup journey with us.

Noor Fatma

Hi, everyone. Good afternoon. I’m Noor Fatma, co -founder of EZO5 Solutions.

Meenal Gupta

Hi, I’m Meenal Gupta, founder of EZO5 Solutions.

Noor Fatma

at EZO5 we have built an AI powered platform Imagix AI that does precision treatment planning for oncology cases and so in the in the startup journey there was a time for us when we one and a half years back when we had just two months of cash flow with us we were thinking a lot what to do and that is when STPI came to our rescue and it helped us raise money and there has been no looking back since then so in the past three years where we have been incorporated we have processed around one million scans we have in the last three months we have scanned around 50 ,000 chest XAs where we have flagged around 4 ,000 cases of TB cut the transmission by short we have flagged six cases of lung cancer where the intervention was still possible so We have prepared 1000 radiotherapy plants in the last three months and we have cut short the treatment planning and start from around one month to a week.

So that is the impact we are making to the support of the whole ecosystem and STPI.

Meenal Gupta

And proudly I say that the impact that we have brought, even our Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi was interested and he invited us to discuss our solution in IMC. And just day before yesterday, we have gone global because Bill Gates showed interest in our solution and he invited us in Microsoft to show our solution and he was discussing how he can help us. Thank you.

Noor Fatma

So now we are going from local to global serving the whole world. Thank you.

Shelly Sharma

Yeah, thank you. Thank you to all the founders for sharing such inspiring stories. So, we now proceed with presentations of mementos to our esteemed dignitaries. To begin with, may I request Shri Ashok Gupta, Sir, Director, STPI, Gurugram to kindly come on the stage. Sir will present the memento to Nirja Shekhar ma ‘am, Director General, NPC. A big round of applause. Thank you so much, Sir. And thank you so much, ma ‘am. Next, may I request Shri Atul Kumar Singh Sir, Additional Director, STPI to kindly come on the stage and present the memento to Shri Bala M .S. A big round of applause. May I now request Shri Praveen Kumar Sir, Joint Director, STPI to kindly come on the stage and present the memento to Geetika Dayal Ma ‘am.

A big round of applause. May I also request Shri Atul Kumar Singh Sir, Additional Director, STPI to kindly come on the stage and present the memento to Geetika Dayal Ma ‘am. Shri Praveen Kumar sir, Joint Director, STPI to kindly present the memento to Shri Rakesh Dubey sir, Director, Startups and Innovation, STPI. Thank you sir. A big round of applause. Now, I would like to request Shri Praveen Kumar sir, Joint Director, STPI to present

Praveen Kumar

the formal vote of thanks. Expected dignitaries, speakers, startup founders, innovators and ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of Software Technology Parks of India, it is our true privilege to thank each one of you for making this session focused, meaningful and definitely forward. looking. Nirja Sekhar ma ‘am, thank you for your thoughtful reflections on productivity and growth. Your perspective adds depth and direction both to our collective mission ma ‘am. We are truly encouraged to have your presence. Thank you so much. We are grateful for it. Sri Rakesh Dube sir, thank you for your profound support which has been both guiding and grounding sir. Your constant encouragement and hands -on involvement in shaping the entire session together has helped us immensely sir.

My sincere appreciation to Geetika Dayal ma ‘am from Thai Daily NCR for your continued partnership and reinforcing the importance of collaborative startup ecosystem building ma ‘am. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Bala, for bringing up a sharp industry lens and pragmatic approach that startups can directly relate to as they scale. So your thoughts on the GCC is definitely going to help them all. To the startups, all the startups who were felicitated today, congratulations. Your achievements demonstrate that innovation from India, including Tier 1 and Tier 2, is both scalable and globally relevant. To all the founders who shared their journey, thank you for your candor and inspiration. Your stories remind us why platforms like STPI matter. And before I conclude, I sincerely appreciate.

My organizing team and every colleague who worked diligently. behind the scene to ensure the session came seamlessly. With that, I once again thank all of you and the dignitaries and I request dignitaries and startups to come forward and have a group chat. Thank you. Thank you again.

Shelly Sharma

I request to all the felicitated startups to kindly come on the stage and have the group photograph with all the dignitaries on the dais. Thank you. Thank you. I also request the other directors as well to please come on stage and join us for the group photographs. Yes, Kavita ma ‘am, please come on the stage. I also request Kishori ma ‘am to please join us for the group photograph. Thank you. Thank you. Once again, thank

Related ResourcesKnowledge base sources related to the discussion topics (24)
Factual NotesClaims verified against the Diplo knowledge base (1)
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Correctionhigh

“AI could contribute roughly $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, of which about $5 trillion would stem from productivity gains.”

The IDC study cited in [S106] forecasts AI to add a cumulative $19.9 trillion to the global economy by 2030, which contradicts the $15.7 trillion figure reported.

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Scaling Innovation Building a Robust AI Startup Ecosystem — -Bala MS: Role – Industry representative; Area of expertise – GCC (Global Capability Centers) and industry perspective f…
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Building the Future STPI Global Partnerships & Startup Felicitation 2026 — – Sh. Bala MS- Ms. Neerja Sekhar Bala MS identifies institutionalization as the key challenge, emphasizing the role of …
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Building the Future STPI Global Partnerships & Startup Felicitation 2026 — Good afternoon, everyone. On behalf of Software Technology Parks of India, I extend a very warm welcome to all the digni…
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https://dig.watch/event/india-ai-impact-summit-2026/building-the-future-stpi-global-partnerships-startup-felicitation-2026 — A big round of applause. May I also request Shri Atul Kumar Singh Sir, Additional Director, STPI to kindly come on the s…
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Scaling Innovation Building a Robust AI Startup Ecosystem — -Devika Chandrasekaran: Role – Co-founder of Fuselage Innovations; Area of expertise – Drone technology for agriculture,…
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Building the Future STPI Global Partnerships & Startup Felicitation 2026 — -Devika Chandrasekaran- Co-founder, Fuselage Innovations (drone technology for agriculture, defense, disaster management…
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Building the Future STPI Global Partnerships & Startup Felicitation 2026 — -Kirty Datar- Representative, Caneboard Solutions Private Limited -Milind Datar- Representative, Caneboard Solutions Pr…
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Scaling Innovation Building a Robust AI Startup Ecosystem — – Devika Chandrasekaran- Milind Datar – Dr. Saumya Shukla- Kirty Datar- Noor Fatima
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Scaling Innovation Building a Robust AI Startup Ecosystem — -Shri Atul Kumar Singh: Title – Additional Director, STPI; Role – Dignitary presenting mementos -Shri Praveen Kumar: Ti…
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https://dig.watch/event/india-ai-impact-summit-2026/building-the-future-stpi-global-partnerships-startup-felicitation-2026 — Good afternoon, everyone. I am Vani Kapoor, Manager, STPI, your co -host for the session. May I now begin by respectfull…
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Building the Future STPI Global Partnerships & Startup Felicitation 2026 — -Vaani Kapoor- Manager, STPI (co-host for the session)
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Scaling Innovation Building a Robust AI Startup Ecosystem — -Nirja Shekhar: Title – Director General, National Productivity Council (NPC); Role – Dignitary presenting awards Thank…
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Scaling Innovation Building a Robust AI Startup Ecosystem — -Shri Ashok Gupta: Title – Director STPI Gurugram; Role – Dignitary presenting mementos Hi, I’m Meenal Gupta, founder o…
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Scaling Innovation Building a Robust AI Startup Ecosystem — -Shri Rakesh Dubey: Title – Director, Startups and Innovation, STPI; Role – Dignitary and supporter of the event
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https://dig.watch/event/india-ai-impact-summit-2026/building-the-future-stpi-global-partnerships-startup-felicitation-2026 — Hi, everyone. Good afternoon. I’m Noor Fatma, co -founder of EZO5 Solutions. So that is the impact we are making to the…
S34
Responsible AI in India Leadership Ethics & Global Impact — Absolutely. So as you said, one size doesn’t fit all. Right. And I liked your coinage of bring your own AI. So let me qu…
S35
Responsible AI in India Leadership Ethics & Global Impact part1_2 — Absolutely. So as you said, one size doesn’t fit all. Right. And I liked your coinage of bring your own AI. So let me qu…
S36
WS #31 Cybersecurity in AI: balancing innovation and risks — Sergio Mayo Macias: No, no problem. I totally agree that ethics is a grey field. It is difficult to mandate ethics. Le…
S37
Keynote by Vivek Mahajan CTO Fujitsu India AI Impact Summit — Managing speaker logistics and acknowledgments The moderator coordinates the movement of speakers onto the stage, ensur…
S38
Closing remarks — Infrastructure | Development This argument demonstrates the massive scale and complexity of organizing a major internat…
S39
AI Innovation in India — “Please come forward.”[17]. “Please come forward quickly.”[23]. “You can also come forward please.”[24]. “Before I call …
S40
Bridging the AI innovation gap — Standards and Global Access
S41
Driving Indias AI Future Growth Innovation and Impact — Thank you, Mridu, and thank you, everyone, for joining us for the unveiling of this important blueprint. As we have hear…
S42
Digital Economy in the Caribbean: Digital Integration (Universidad de La Habana) — The strategy has five main pillars: capacity building, norms and institutional pillar, investment and financing pillar, …
S43
Indias AI Leap Policy to Practice with AIP2 — The three M’s approach – Mentorship, Market Access, and Money – is essential for supporting startup growth
S44
Panel Discussion Summary: AI Governance Implementation and Capacity Building in Government — So two years ago, the French Prime Minister’s Digital Directorate elaborated a strategy based on five pillars. The first…
S45
What policy levers can bridge the AI divide? — How to achieve the ambitious goal of connecting 2.6 billion people in the remaining five years to 2030
S46
Open Forum #10 Mygov e-government portal — Elvin Hajiyev, Head of the Azerbaijan Innovation Center (AIM), discussed the innovation aspect of Azerbaijan’s digital d…
S47
AI Impact Summit 2026: Global Ministerial Discussions on Inclusive AI Development — Costa Rica has chosen to lead by example. Together with the OECD, we’re leading the development of the OECD AI Policy To…
S48
Global AI Policy Framework: International Cooperation and Historical Perspectives — Werner identifies three critical barriers that prevent AI for good use cases from scaling globally. He emphasizes that d…
S49
Bioeconomy Strategy — – ・ To contribute to CO2 emission reduction and hay fever countermeasures by spreading largescale buildings utilizing wo…
S50
Enhancing the digital infrastructure for all | IGF 2023 Open Forum #135 — Furthermore, the importance of having appropriate policies in place to support and foster innovation and ecosystem devel…
S51
WS #283 AI Agents: Ensuring Responsible Deployment — Anne McCormick: Thank you, Anne McCormick, EY, Global Head of Public Policy. I’m interested in this context of policy no…
S52
UNESCO Recommendation on the ethics of artificial intelligence — (a) Support the protection, monitoring and management of natural resources. (d) Support the acceleration of access to a…
S53
Open Forum #33 Building an International AI Cooperation Ecosystem — Participant: ≫ Distinguished guests, dear friends, it is a great honor to speak to you today on a topic that is reshapin…
S54
Scaling Innovation Building a Robust AI Startup Ecosystem — STPI ecosystem as catalyst for startup growth
S55
Building the Future STPI Global Partnerships & Startup Felicitation 2026 — Kumar emphasised the evolution from traditional MSME support to the current startup ecosystem, noting how this transform…
S56
Impact the Future – Compassion AI | IGF 2023 Town Hall #63 — Robert Kroplewski:Okay, good morning. Welcome to the Town Hall, the special panel dedicated to impact the future under t…
S57
HETEROGENEOUS COMPUTE FOR DEMOCRATIZING ACCESS TO AI — “Trust is in addition, trust is context dependent, I trust.”[8]. “Trust is not symmetric, I trust Sarah, Sarah may not t…
S58
HealthAI: The Global Agency for Responsible AI in Health — Responsible AI is characterised by AI technologies that align with established standards and ethical principles, priorit…
S59
Shaping AI’s Story Trust Responsibility & Real-World Outcomes — This comment reframes the entire trust vs. innovation debate by rejecting the false dichotomy. It establishes that trust…
S60
High-Level Session 3: Exploring Transparency and Explainability in AI: An Ethical Imperative — Doreen Bogdan-Martin: Thank you, and good morning again, ladies and gentlemen. I guess, Latifa, picking up as you were a…
S61
AI for agriculture Scaling Intelegence for food and climate resiliance — Artificial intelligence | Human rights and the ethical dimensions of the information society The minister emphasizes th…
S62
Artificial intelligence (AI) – UN Security Council — Algorithmic transparency is a critical topic discussed in various sessions, notably in the9821st meetingof the AI Securi…
S63
WS #110 AI Innovation Responsible Development Ethical Imperatives — Ricardo Israel Robles Pelayo: Thank you very much. Good afternoon, everyone. It is an honor to be here and share a refle…
S64
Global AI Policy Framework: International Cooperation and Historical Perspectives — So until we figure out how to share data in a way that’s useful, but still respects privacy, and there are techniques fo…
S65
Powering AI _ Global Leaders Session _ AI Impact Summit India Part 2 — Despite technical and economic opportunities, significant policy challenges remain. Chandra identified lack of coordinat…
S66
Scaling AI Beyond Pilots: A World Economic Forum Panel Discussion — Key barriers to scaling include the need for high-quality data foundations, reimagined business processes, and comprehen…
S67
Leaders TalkX: Ethical Dimensions of the Information Society — Ana Neves from the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development spoke about the importance of pub…
S68
Building Trust through Transparency — Another perspective shifts the focus from trust to trustworthiness. The speaker contends that trustworthiness should be …
S69
How Trust and Safety Drive Innovation and Sustainable Growth — All speakers agreed that trust is the foundational requirement for AI adoption. Without trust, people simply won’t use A…
S70
WS #288 An AI Policy Research Roadmap for Evidence-Based AI Policy — Unexpectedly, there was strong consensus across industry, government, and academic perspectives on the need for collabor…
S71
Democratizing AI: Open foundations and shared resources for global impact — The tone was consistently collaborative, optimistic, and forward-looking throughout the discussion. Speakers maintained …
S72
Multistakeholder Partnerships for Thriving AI Ecosystems — Low to moderate disagreement level with high strategic alignment. The disagreements are constructive and complementary r…
S73
Building the Future STPI Global Partnerships & Startup Felicitation 2026 — Rakesh Dubey described specific functionalities of the STPI portal, such as a product marketplace where startups can sho…
S74
Scaling Innovation Building a Robust AI Startup Ecosystem — -Collaborative Ecosystem Building: The event highlighted partnerships between STPI, National Productivity Council, and o…
S75
WS #100 Integrating the Global South in Global AI Governance — This could help bridge the gap in computing infrastructure between developed and developing countries.
S76
Open Forum #10 Mygov e-government portal — Elvin Hajiyev, Head of the Azerbaijan Innovation Center (AIM), discussed the innovation aspect of Azerbaijan’s digital d…
S77
Scaling Trusted AI_ How France and India Are Building Industrial & Innovation Bridges — The summit’s central insight emerged from the high-level panel discussion on trusted AI, moderated by Arun Sasheesh from…
S78
Summit Opening Session — The tone throughout is consistently formal, diplomatic, and collaborative. Speakers maintain an optimistic and forward-l…
S79
Ad Hoc Consultation: Friday 2nd February, Morning session — The delegate commenced their address by offering thanks to the chairman, establishing a courteous and formal tone for th…
S80
Ad Hoc Consultation: Thursday 1st February, Morning session — In a formal and courteous address, the speaker began by respectfully acknowledging the presiding official, Madam Chair, …
S81
Bridging the AI innovation gap — The tone is consistently inspirational and collaborative throughout. The speaker maintains an optimistic, forward-lookin…
S82
Artificial intelligence as a driver of digital transformation in industries (HSE University) — It is leading to the automation of some business processes, transforming labour markets. However, highly qualified indiv…
S83
Comprehensive Discussion Report: AI’s Transformative Potential for Global Economic Growth — The conversation maintains a consistently optimistic and enthusiastic tone throughout. Both speakers demonstrate genuine…
S84
The Future of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the AI Era: A World Economic Forum Panel Discussion — Everything’s getting faster. And the question I have for this panel is, does AI merely change entrepreneurship, or does …
S85
Shaping the Future AI Strategies for Jobs and Economic Development — The discussion maintained an optimistic yet pragmatic tone throughout. While acknowledging significant challenges around…
S86
Pre 12: Resilience of IoT Ecosystems: Preparing for the Future — The discussion maintained a serious, urgent tone throughout, with speakers consistently emphasizing the critical nature …
S87
Aligning AI Governance Across the Tech Stack ITI C-Suite Panel — The discussion maintained a collaborative and constructive tone throughout, with panelists generally agreeing on core pr…
S88
HETEROGENEOUS COMPUTE FOR DEMOCRATIZING ACCESS TO AI — The discussion maintained a professional, collaborative, and optimistic tone throughout. Panelists demonstrated mutual r…
S89
Building Population-Scale Digital Public Infrastructure for AI — The tone is optimistic and collaborative throughout, with speakers sharing concrete examples of successful implementatio…
S90
Open Mic & Closing Ceremony — The overall tone was formal yet appreciative. There was a sense of accomplishment and gratitude expressed throughout, wi…
S91
AI for Good Impact Awards — The tone is celebratory and enthusiastic throughout, with host LJ Rich maintaining an upbeat, sometimes humorous demeano…
S92
High-Level Track Facilitators Summary and Certificates — The discussion maintained a consistently positive and celebratory tone throughout, characterized by gratitude, accomplis…
S93
Any other business /Adoption of the report/ Closure of the session — In closing, the speaker reiterated steadfast support for the Chairperson, the Secretariat, and the diligent team, emphas…
S94
Closing remarks — The tone is consistently celebratory, optimistic, and forward-looking throughout the discussion. It maintains an enthusi…
S95
Closing Ceremony — The discussion maintains a consistently positive and collaborative tone throughout, characterized by gratitude, celebrat…
S96
Leaders TalkX: ICT Applications Unlocking the Full Potential of Digital – Part I — In summary, the speaker outlines Iraq’s progressive plans for development in information technology and digital skills e…
S97
https://dig.watch/event/india-ai-impact-summit-2026/building-the-next-wave-of-ai_-responsible-frameworks-standards — And this is, you can see up here on the screen, the QR code, and you can scan the QR code and then you’ll get access to …
S98
Better governance for fairer digital markets: unlocking the innovation potential and leveling the playing field (UNCTAD) — Following the burst of the dot-com bubble in the late 1990s, a handful of companies rapidly emerged and became market le…
S100
https://dig.watch/event/india-ai-impact-summit-2026/setting-the-rules_-global-ai-standards-for-growth-and-governance — And maybe before the next introduction, just so you can get a flavor, we have standard setters and measurers. We have pe…
S102
https://dig.watch/event/india-ai-impact-summit-2026/mahaai-building-safe-secure-smart-governance — Thank you sir, that was quite reassuring as well And since you spoke about quantum I want to bring in Dr. Anupam Chattop…
S103
Can (generative) AI be compatible with Data Protection? | IGF 2023 #24 — Jonathan Mendoza Iserte:Thank you, Luca. Good afternoon. How are you? I want to thank the organizers for bringing this t…
S104
Media Briefing: Unlocking the North Star for AI Adoption, Scaling and Global Impact / DAVOS 2025 — Cathy Li: Thanks for having me. So first of all, just a very quick overview. The work is done not by one organisation…
S105
#205 L&A Launch of the Global CyberPeace index — Suresh Yadav: Thank you, Vinit. I hope you can hear me, Vinit, if you can. Loud and clear, we can hear you. Thank you ve…
S106
AI set to drive trillion-dollar growth by 2030 — AI is forecast to add a cumulative $19.9 trillion to the global economy by 2030, according to arecent IDC study. This gr…
Speakers Analysis
Detailed breakdown of each speaker’s arguments and positions
S
Sh. Rakesh Dubey
1 argument158 words per minute287 words108 seconds
Argument 1
Overview of STPI’s digital portal with incubator resources, product marketplace, hiring hub, and lifecycle support – *Sh. Rakesh Dubey*
EXPLANATION
Rakesh Dubey described the STPI online portal as a one‑of‑its‑kind platform that aggregates resources for incubators, accelerators, and startups. It hosts policy repositories, contests, a product marketplace, and a hiring hub that support the entire startup lifecycle.
EVIDENCE
He explained that the portal allows incubators, accelerators, state governments, and academia to find needed resources and serves as a repository of government policies [11-13]. He detailed features such as a product marketplace where startups can showcase products and a hiring hub for niche job postings, noting that these capabilities enable end-to-end support for startups online [14-20].
EXTERNAL EVIDENCE (KNOWLEDGE BASE)
S2 describes the portal’s product marketplace and hiring hub, confirming Dubey’s overview of the digital platform.
MAJOR DISCUSSION POINT
STPI digital portal capabilities
AGREED WITH
Arvind Kumar
A
Arvind Kumar
2 arguments134 words per minute923 words413 seconds
Argument 1
STPI’s nationwide network of 70 centres, incubation services, seed funding, and market‑access initiatives – *Arvind Kumar*
EXPLANATION
Arvind Kumar outlined the scale of STPI’s physical presence across India, highlighting its 70 centres, many in tier‑2 and tier‑3 cities, and the range of services offered to startups, including incubation, seed funding, and market‑access support.
EVIDENCE
He stated that STPI operates 70 centres nationwide, with 62 located in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and an additional 24 domain-specific entrepreneurship centres that provide at least 60 % support, seed funding, global reach, and market access to startups [165-180]. He also mentioned other services such as network security, data centres, and cloud services delivered through PPP partners [181-183].
EXTERNAL EVIDENCE (KNOWLEDGE BASE)
S2 cites Kumar’s statement about STPI operating 70 centres (with many in tier‑2/3 cities) and providing “60‑degree support” including incubation and seed funding.
MAJOR DISCUSSION POINT
STPI physical network and services
AGREED WITH
Sh. Rakesh Dubey
Argument 2
Distinction between responsible (fairness, accountability) and ethical (environment, job creation) AI, and the necessity of accountability in AI products – *Arvind Kumar*
EXPLANATION
Arvind Kumar clarified the difference between ‘responsible’ AI, which focuses on fairness and accountability, and ‘ethical’ AI, which concerns broader societal impacts such as environmental stewardship and job creation. He emphasized that accountability is essential for trustworthy AI deployment.
EVIDENCE
He gave examples, explaining that ethical AI involves a CEO’s responsibility toward environment and job creation, while responsible AI requires fairness, lack of bias, and clear accountability, illustrated by the driverless-car accident scenario [194-199].
EXTERNAL EVIDENCE (KNOWLEDGE BASE)
The responsible vs. ethical AI discussion is elaborated in S34, S35 and S36, which align with Kumar’s distinction and emphasis on accountability.
MAJOR DISCUSSION POINT
Responsible vs ethical AI
AGREED WITH
Ms. Neerja Sekhar
S
Shelly Sharma
1 argument29 words per minute1208 words2418 seconds
Argument 1
Opening welcome, session hosting, and facilitation of MOUs and felicitation ceremony – *Shelly Sharma*
EXPLANATION
Shelly Sharma opened the event, welcomed dignitaries and participants, and later coordinated the MOU exchange and startup felicitation ceremony, ensuring smooth progression of the agenda.
EVIDENCE
She began with a warm welcome to all dignitaries and the audience on behalf of STPI [1-2] and later managed the felicitation ceremony, announcing each startup and directing dignitaries to present certificates and trophies [214-277].
EXTERNAL EVIDENCE (KNOWLEDGE BASE)
S2 records Shelly Sharma delivering the warm welcome on behalf of STPI at the start of the event.
MAJOR DISCUSSION POINT
Event opening and ceremony coordination
AGREED WITH
Sh. Bala MS, Ms. Geetika Dayal, Ms. Neerja Sekhar, Vaani Kapoor
V
Vaani Kapoor
1 argument69 words per minute520 words451 seconds
Argument 1
Coordination of speakers, video presentation, and ceremony logistics – *Vaani Kapoor*
EXPLANATION
Vaani Kapoor acted as co‑host, introducing speakers, arranging the short audio‑video presentation, and overseeing the logistics for the MOU exchange and felicitation ceremony.
EVIDENCE
She introduced the session, welcomed guests, and invited the opening address [3-10]; later requested the technical team to play the STPI impact video and introduced the industry speaker [26-30]; thanked the previous speaker and announced the next presenter, Ms. Geetika Dayal, before the MOU ceremony [80-81][113-115].
MAJOR DISCUSSION POINT
Session coordination and logistics
AGREED WITH
Sh. Bala MS, Ms. Geetika Dayal, Ms. Neerja Sekhar, Shelly Sharma
M
Milind Datar
1 argument0 words per minute0 words1 seconds
Argument 1
Participation in the startup felicitation ceremony representing STPI leadership – *Milind Datar*
EXPLANATION
Milind Datar was listed among the STPI representatives present during the startup felicitation ceremony, symbolising STPI’s leadership role in recognizing startup achievements.
MAJOR DISCUSSION POINT
STPI representation at felicitation
P
Praveen Kumar
1 argument108 words per minute299 words165 seconds
Argument 1
Formal vote of thanks acknowledging all contributors and reinforcing STPI’s role – *Praveen Kumar*
EXPLANATION
Praveen Kumar delivered the concluding vote of thanks, expressing gratitude to all speakers, dignitaries, and startups, and underscoring STPI’s central role in fostering the AI innovation ecosystem.
EVIDENCE
He thanked the dignitaries, highlighted Neerja Sekhar’s reflections, praised Rakesh Dubey’s support, acknowledged Geetika Dayal’s partnership, and lauded Bala’s industry perspective, before inviting a group photograph [353-366].
MAJOR DISCUSSION POINT
Closing gratitude and reinforcement of STPI’s impact
S
Sh. Bala MS
1 argument160 words per minute1424 words531 seconds
Argument 1
GCC growth outlook, shift to R&D, co‑creation model, and need for data, infrastructure, and enterprise validation for AI start‑ups – *Sh. Bala MS*
EXPLANATION
Bala presented a macro view of Global Capability Centers (GCCs), projecting massive AI‑related economic contributions by 2030, a shift from cost‑center to R&D hub, and emphasized that startups need real data, infrastructure, and enterprise validation, which GCCs can provide through co‑creation models.
EVIDENCE
He cited projected global AI contribution of $15.7 trillion by 2030, with $5 trillion from productivity, and predicted India will host over 3,500 GCCs contributing $150 billion in software exports and employing 3.5 million people [36-43]. He explained that the scale of AI is determined by integration into global organisations, noting gaps in institutionalisation and operational readiness, and described the co-creation model where GCCs act as bridges providing data, infrastructure, and sandbox environments for startups [44-58][59-66][70-78].
EXTERNAL EVIDENCE (KNOWLEDGE BASE)
S2 reports Bala MS advocating a co‑creation model with GCCs, highlighting the shift from cost‑center to R&D hub and the need for data and infrastructure.
MAJOR DISCUSSION POINT
GCCs as enablers for AI startups
AGREED WITH
Ms. Geetika Dayal
M
Ms. Geetika Dayal
2 arguments143 words per minute872 words364 seconds
Argument 1
Collaboration with GCCs for market access, joint accelerators, and scaling AI innovations – *Ms. Geetika Dayal*
EXPLANATION
Geetika highlighted how partnerships with GCCs can provide startups with market access, joint accelerator programmes, and pathways to scale AI innovations, stressing the importance of coordinated ecosystem efforts.
EVIDENCE
She referenced the role of GCCs in providing market access and noted the need to expand joint accelerators, scale up the Samarth programme, and develop corporate challenge programmes as concrete collaborative actions [95-98][103-108].
EXTERNAL EVIDENCE (KNOWLEDGE BASE)
S2 notes Dayal’s remarks on leveraging GCCs for market access, joint accelerator programmes and scaling AI innovations.
MAJOR DISCUSSION POINT
GCC‑driven market access and scaling
AGREED WITH
Sh. Bala MS
Argument 2
Mentorship, market‑access, patient capital, capability building, and five structural pillars (knowledge, resources, market validation, funding, ethical AI) – *Ms. Geetika Dayal*
EXPLANATION
Geetika outlined the core levers of the startup ecosystem—mentorship, market access, patient capital, and capability building—and identified five structural pillars required to scale innovation, including ethical AI considerations.
EVIDENCE
She described TI’s mentorship and acceleration work, the gaps startups face in business capability, market access, and capital, and listed the five pillars: knowledge and capability building, resource access, market validation, funding access, and ethical/responsible AI [94-103][106-108].
EXTERNAL EVIDENCE (KNOWLEDGE BASE)
S43 outlines the three‑M framework (Mentorship, Market Access, Money) that underpins Dayal’s identified ecosystem levers and structural pillars.
MAJOR DISCUSSION POINT
Key ecosystem levers and structural pillars
M
Ms. Neerja Sekhar
2 arguments97 words per minute921 words565 seconds
Argument 1
NPC’s three‑part framework for AI start‑ups – trust, testbeds, traction – and productivity‑driven outcomes – *Ms. Neerja Sekhar*
EXPLANATION
Neerja presented a concise framework consisting of trust, testbeds, and traction to guide AI startups, linking these elements to productivity gains and measurable outcomes across sectors.
EVIDENCE
She defined trust as the entry ticket requiring privacy, cybersecurity, transparency, and accountability; testbeds as real-world sandboxes for validation; and traction as moving pilots to scale, emphasizing that these enable productivity improvements such as higher quality, faster delivery, and better customer experience [140-149]. She further noted NPC’s role in providing benchmarking, assessment, and productivity-focused models to support these outcomes [150-158].
MAJOR DISCUSSION POINT
Trust‑testbed‑traction framework
AGREED WITH
Sh. Bala MS, Ms. Geetika Dayal, Shelly Sharma, Vaani Kapoor
Argument 2
Trust as the entry ticket: privacy, cybersecurity, transparency, and operational reliability required for AI adoption – *Ms. Neerja Sekhar*
EXPLANATION
She emphasized that without trust—ensuring privacy, security, transparency, and reliable operations—AI solutions cannot achieve widespread adoption.
EVIDENCE
She explicitly stated that trust is the entry ticket and listed its components: privacy, cyber-security by design, transparency, accountability, operational reliability, and responsible governance [140-145].
MAJOR DISCUSSION POINT
Importance of trust for AI uptake
D
Devika Chandrasekaran
1 argument122 words per minute207 words101 seconds
Argument 1
Early STPI program validation, drone solutions for agriculture, defence, and disaster management – *Devika Chandrasekaran*
EXPLANATION
Devika recounted how participation in the STPI Scout 2021 program validated her startup’s prototype, leading to confidence, growth, and deployment of drones across agriculture, defence, and disaster‑management sectors.
EVIDENCE
She mentioned joining the Scout 2021 program in 2021, receiving validation and funding support that boosted confidence, and described current operations serving over 10,000 farmers and contributing to defence and disaster-management applications [282-287].
EXTERNAL EVIDENCE (KNOWLEDGE BASE)
S1 documents Devika Chandrasekaran’s testimony that STPI’s Scout 2021 program validated her drone startup and enabled deployment across agriculture, defence and disaster‑management sectors.
MAJOR DISCUSSION POINT
STPI validation catalysing drone startup growth
D
Dr. Soumya
1 argument126 words per minute175 words82 seconds
Argument 1
AI‑powered radiology and DNA sequencing diagnostics, regulatory support, and global scaling – *Dr. Soumya*
EXPLANATION
Dr. Soumya explained that TectoCell builds AI‑driven diagnostic solutions for radiology and DNA sequencing, achieving high clinical accuracy, and highlighted STPI’s role in helping navigate regulatory compliance and secure data for global scaling.
EVIDENCE
She described the AI-powered diagnostic platform, its high clinical accuracy, and the support received from STPI for regulatory compliance, global collaborations, and data acquisition, which positions the company for worldwide expansion [294-298].
MAJOR DISCUSSION POINT
AI diagnostics enabled by STPI support
A
Arita Dalan
1 argument139 words per minute268 words114 seconds
Argument 1
Cybersecurity platform simplifying security for enterprises across sectors, facilitated industry connections – *Arita Dalan*
EXPLANATION
Arita outlined SecureTech’s mission to simplify cybersecurity for large enterprises in sectors such as pharma, banking, and emerging digital firms, noting that STPI helped connect the company with investors and industry partners.
EVIDENCE
She described SecureTech’s services-providing frameworks, security parameters, and end-to-end solutions for enterprises across multiple sectors-and credited STPI for enabling industry connections and investor outreach [314-320].
MAJOR DISCUSSION POINT
STPI‑enabled cybersecurity outreach
K
Kirty Datar
1 argument147 words per minute50 words20 seconds
Argument 1
Credibility and market confidence gained through STPI recognition – *Kirty Datar*
EXPLANATION
Kirty stated that STPI’s recognition has enhanced his startup’s credibility with customers, investors, and government stakeholders, strengthening its market position.
EVIDENCE
He noted that STPI’s recognition sharpened their positioning as a deep-tech company and boosted credibility with various stakeholders [323-325].
MAJOR DISCUSSION POINT
STPI endorsement as credibility booster
N
Noor Fatma
1 argument169 words per minute219 words77 seconds
Argument 1
AI‑driven oncology treatment planning platform, rapid scaling from local to global with STPI assistance – *Noor Fatma* & *Meenal Gupta*
EXPLANATION
Noor described EZO5’s AI‑powered platform for oncology treatment planning, highlighting rapid scaling from a cash‑flow crisis to processing millions of scans, and credited STPI for critical early support that enabled this growth.
EVIDENCE
She recounted that after a cash-flow crunch, STPI helped raise funds, leading to processing one million scans, detecting thousands of TB and lung-cancer cases, and reducing radiotherapy planning time from a month to a week; she also mentioned global interest from Bill Gates and a meeting with the Prime Minister, underscoring the platform’s impact [332-339].
MAJOR DISCUSSION POINT
STPI‑enabled AI oncology platform scaling
M
Meenal Gupta
1 argument133 words per minute76 words34 seconds
Argument 1
AI‑driven oncology treatment planning platform, rapid scaling from local to global with STPI assistance – *Noor Fatma* & *Meenal Gupta*
EXPLANATION
Meenal highlighted the same achievements of EZO5, emphasizing recognition from the Prime Minister and interest from Bill Gates, illustrating the global relevance of their AI solution.
EVIDENCE
She noted that the Prime Minister invited them to discuss the solution at the IMC and that Bill Gates expressed interest, leading to a meeting at Microsoft to explore further collaboration [334-336].
MAJOR DISCUSSION POINT
High‑level endorsement of AI oncology solution
Agreements
Agreement Points
Collaboration across ecosystem partners (STPI, GCCs, NPC, industry) is essential for scaling AI innovation and startups.
Speakers: Sh. Bala MS, Ms. Geetika Dayal, Ms. Neerja Sekhar, Shelly Sharma, Vaani Kapoor
GCC growth outlook, shift to R&D, co‑creation model, and need for data, infrastructure, and enterprise validation for AI start‑ups – *Sh. Bala MS* Collaboration with GCCs for market access, joint accelerators, and scaling AI innovations – *Ms. Geetika Dayal* NPC’s three‑part framework for AI start‑ups – trust, testbeds, traction – and productivity‑driven outcomes – *Ms. Neerja Sekhar* Opening welcome, session hosting, and facilitation of MOUs and felicitation ceremony – *Shelly Sharma* Coordination of speakers, video presentation, and ceremony logistics – *Vaani Kapoor*
All speakers highlighted that coordinated action among government bodies (STPI, NPC), Global Capability Centers, and private sector partners is the cornerstone for building a robust AI startup ecosystem, enabling market access, data sharing, and scaling pathways [44-58][59-78][95-98][103-108][124-126][214-277].
POLICY CONTEXT (KNOWLEDGE BASE)
This consensus mirrors calls for multi-stakeholder AI cooperation in IGF 2023 and UN-led AI policy roadmaps that stress ecosystem collaboration as a prerequisite for scaling innovation [S50][S53][S70][S71][S72].
Trust, accountability and responsible/ethical AI are prerequisites for AI adoption and scaling.
Speakers: Arvind Kumar, Ms. Neerja Sekhar
Distinction between responsible (fairness, accountability) and ethical (environment, job creation) AI, and the necessity of accountability in AI products – *Arvind Kumar* Trust as the entry ticket: privacy, testbeds, traction – and emphasis on privacy, cybersecurity, transparency, accountability – *Ms. Neerja Sekhar*
Both speakers stressed that without trust-ensuring privacy, security, transparency and clear accountability-AI solutions cannot achieve widespread adoption; they framed this as a matter of responsible and ethical AI [194-199][140-145].
POLICY CONTEXT (KNOWLEDGE BASE)
The emphasis aligns with UNESCO’s AI ethics recommendations and multiple IGF panels that frame trust, accountability and responsible AI as foundational policy pillars for adoption [S58][S59][S60][S69].
STPI provides comprehensive support for startups through both a unique digital portal and a nationwide physical network.
Speakers: Sh. Rakesh Dubey, Arvind Kumar
Overview of STPI’s digital portal with incubator resources, product marketplace, hiring hub, and lifecycle support – *Sh. Rakesh Dubey* STPI’s nationwide network of 70 centres, incubation services, seed funding, and market‑access initiatives – *Arvind Kumar*
Dubey described a one-of-its-kind online platform that aggregates resources for incubators and startups, while Kumar highlighted the physical presence of 70 STPI centres delivering incubation, funding and market access, together forming a holistic support system [11-20][165-180].
POLICY CONTEXT (KNOWLEDGE BASE)
STPI’s “60-degree” support model and its digital-portal-driven ecosystem have been documented as a catalyst for startup growth in official STPI case studies [S54][S55].
Global Capability Centers (GCCs) are critical pathways for AI startups to obtain market access, data, and enterprise validation.
Speakers: Sh. Bala MS, Ms. Geetika Dayal
GCC growth outlook, shift to R&D, co‑creation model, and need for data, infrastructure, and enterprise validation for AI start‑ups – *Sh. Bala MS* Collaboration with GCCs for market access, joint accelerators, and scaling AI innovations – *Ms. Geetika Dayal*
Both speakers emphasized that GCCs act as bridges, providing real-world data, sandbox environments and market pathways that enable AI startups to move from prototype to production scale [59-78][95-98][103-108].
Similar Viewpoints
Both argue that accountability and trust mechanisms are essential foundations for responsible AI deployment, linking ethical considerations with practical adoption requirements [194-199][140-145].
Speakers: Arvind Kumar, Ms. Neerja Sekhar
Distinction between responsible (fairness, accountability) and ethical (environment, job creation) AI – *Arvind Kumar* Trust as the entry ticket: privacy, cybersecurity, transparency, accountability – *Ms. Neerja Sekhar*
Both present STPI as a uniquely comprehensive enabler for startups, combining a digital platform with a physical incubation network to cover the full startup lifecycle [11-20][165-180].
Speakers: Sh. Rakesh Dubey, Arvind Kumar
Overview of STPI’s digital portal – *Sh. Rakesh Dubey* STPI’s nationwide network of 70 centres, incubation services – *Arvind Kumar*
Both see GCCs as strategic partners that provide the data, infrastructure and market channels necessary for AI startups to transition from pilot to production scale [59-78][95-98][103-108].
Speakers: Sh. Bala MS, Ms. Geetika Dayal
GCC co‑creation model and its role in scaling AI startups – *Sh. Bala MS* Collaboration with GCCs for market access and scaling – *Ms. Geetika Dayal*
Unexpected Consensus
All speakers, regardless of sector (government, industry, academia), emphasized collaboration over competition as the guiding principle for AI ecosystem development.
Speakers: Sh. Bala MS, Ms. Geetika Dayal, Ms. Neerja Sekhar, Shelly Sharma
Co‑creation model with GCCs – *Sh. Bala MS* Collaboration with GCCs and joint accelerators – *Ms. Geetika Dayal* Statement that this is not the era of competition but of collaboration – *Ms. Neerja Sekhar* Facilitating MOUs and joint programmes – *Shelly Sharma*
While industry speakers typically stress market dynamics, they aligned with government representatives in declaring that the future lies in collaborative frameworks rather than competitive rivalry, a stance that was not explicitly anticipated given the diverse stakeholder mix [124-126][214-277].
POLICY CONTEXT (KNOWLEDGE BASE)
This collaborative stance is echoed across several multistakeholder AI forums that prioritize partnership over competition as a strategic policy direction [S53][S70][S71][S72].
Overall Assessment

The panel displayed a strong, multi‑dimensional consensus that scaling AI innovation in India hinges on coordinated ecosystem collaboration (STPI, GCCs, NPC, industry), robust trust and accountability mechanisms, and comprehensive support infrastructure (both digital and physical).

High consensus across all major themes, indicating a unified strategic direction that can accelerate policy implementation, investment mobilization and capacity building for AI startups.

Differences
Different Viewpoints
Primary bottleneck for scaling AI startups
Speakers: Sh. Bala MS, Arvind Kumar
The scale of AI is determined by integration into global organisations and institutionalisation gaps (Bala MS) Distinction between responsible (fairness, accountability) and ethical (environment, job creation) AI; necessity of accountability (Arvind Kumar)
Bala argues that the main obstacle is the lack of integration of AI solutions into global organisations and limited institutionalisation, whereas Kumar stresses that without responsible and ethical AI-particularly fairness and clear accountability-start-ups cannot gain trust or scale. Both see a gap but locate it in different dimensions of the ecosystem [50-55][58-60][194-199].
POLICY CONTEXT (KNOWLEDGE BASE)
Global AI policy discussions identify data access, connectivity gaps and inter-governmental coordination as the main bottlenecks hindering AI startup scaling [S64][S65][S66].
Preferred mechanism for ecosystem support
Speakers: Sh. Rakesh Dubey, Arvind Kumar, Ms. Geetika Dayal
Overview of STPI’s digital portal with incubator resources, product marketplace, hiring hub, and lifecycle support (Rakesh Dubey) STPI’s nationwide network of 70 centres, incubation services, seed funding, and market‑access initiatives (Arvind Kumar) Collaboration with GCCs for market access, joint accelerators, and scaling AI innovations (Geetika Dayal)
Dubey promotes a one-of-its-kind online portal as the central support tool, Kumar emphasizes a physical network of centres providing incubation and seed funding, while Dayal highlights GCC-driven joint accelerators and market-access partnerships. Each proposes a different primary vehicle for supporting startups [11-20][165-180][95-103].
Definition and scope of “trust” versus responsible/ethical AI
Speakers: Ms. Neerja Sekhar, Arvind Kumar
Trust is the entry ticket comprising privacy, cyber‑security, transparency, accountability, operational reliability (Neerja Sekhar) Distinction between responsible (fairness, accountability) and ethical (environment, job creation) AI, with accountability as essential (Arvind Kumar)
Neerja frames trust as a bundle of privacy, security, transparency and reliability needed for AI adoption, whereas Kumar separates responsible AI (fairness, accountability) from ethical AI (broader societal impacts). The overlap on accountability is acknowledged, but the broader ethical dimension is treated differently [140-145][194-199].
POLICY CONTEXT (KNOWLEDGE BASE)
Scholarly and policy sessions differentiate trust, trustworthiness and ethical AI, highlighting the need for transparent, accountable systems to operationalise both concepts [S57][S58][S68][S69].
Role of capital versus structural ecosystem interventions
Speakers: Arvind Kumar, Sh. Bala MS
Capital alone cannot solve friction; operational and organizational readiness are the real gaps (Arvind Kumar) Co‑creation model with GCCs provides data, infrastructure and enterprise validation, acting as bridge to scale AI startups (Bala MS)
Kumar stresses that financial capital is insufficient without addressing operational readiness, while Bala points to GCC-based co-creation platforms as the structural solution to provide the necessary data and infrastructure, implying a different focus for overcoming the same friction [60-62][59-66].
Unexpected Differences
Uniqueness claim of STPI’s digital portal versus lack of corroboration
Speakers: Sh. Rakesh Dubey, Other speakers (no explicit confirmation)
This portal is, I think, one of its kind portal, not just in India, but across the world (Rakesh Dubey)
Dubey asserts the portal’s global uniqueness [14], a claim not referenced or contested by any other participant, making it an unexpected point that remains unverified within the discussion.
Different emphasis on ethical versus trust dimensions
Speakers: Arvind Kumar, Ms. Neerja Sekhar
Distinction between responsible (fairness, accountability) and ethical (environment, job creation) AI (Arvind Kumar) Trust as entry ticket covering privacy, security, transparency, accountability (Neerja Sekhar)
While both address accountability, Kumar expands the discussion to broader ethical considerations (environment, job creation) that Neerja’s trust framework does not explicitly include, revealing an unexpected divergence in the scope of what constitutes a trustworthy AI system [194-199][140-145].
POLICY CONTEXT (KNOWLEDGE BASE)
Debates in IGF and UN panels reveal divergent but complementary focus on ethics versus trustworthiness, underscoring distinct policy strands within AI governance frameworks [S59][S68][S69].
Overall Assessment

The panel largely concurred on the importance of scaling AI innovation and supporting startups, but diverged on the primary mechanisms—digital platforms, physical incubation centres, GCC‑driven co‑creation, and trust‑testbed‑traction frameworks. The most pronounced disagreements centered on where the main bottleneck lies (integration vs responsible/ethical compliance) and how best to structure ecosystem support.

Moderate disagreement: while there is consensus on the end goal, the differing strategic emphases suggest that coordinated policy will need to reconcile digital, physical, and GCC‑based approaches, and align definitions of trust, responsibility and ethics to avoid fragmented interventions.

Partial Agreements
All speakers share the overarching goal of scaling AI innovation and strengthening the Indian AI startup ecosystem, but each proposes a different primary lever – a digital portal, physical incubation centres, GCC‑driven co‑creation, joint accelerator programmes, or a trust‑testbed‑traction framework – to achieve that goal [11-20][165-180][36-43][95-103][140-149].
Speakers: Sh. Rakesh Dubey, Arvind Kumar, Sh. Bala MS, Ms. Geetika Dayal, Ms. Neerja Sekhar
Overview of STPI’s digital portal with incubator resources, product marketplace, hiring hub, and lifecycle support (Rakesh Dubey) STPI’s nationwide network of 70 centres, incubation services, seed funding, and market‑access initiatives (Arvind Kumar) GCC growth outlook, shift to R&D, co‑creation model, and need for data, infrastructure, and enterprise validation for AI start‑ups (Bala MS) Collaboration with GCCs for market access, joint accelerators, and scaling AI innovations (Geetika Dayal) NPC’s three‑part framework for AI start‑ups – trust, testbeds, traction – and productivity‑driven outcomes (Neerja Sekhar)
Takeaways
Key takeaways
STPI has built a comprehensive digital portal that offers incubator resources, a product marketplace, a hiring hub, and end‑to‑end lifecycle support for startups. STPI’s physical presence spans 70 centres (including 24 domain‑specific entrepreneurship centres) across Tier‑2/3 cities, providing incubation, seed funding, market access and infrastructure services. Global Capability Centers (GCCs) are evolving from cost‑center models to R&D and innovation hubs; they can act as bridges that provide data, compute, enterprise validation and co‑creation sandboxes for AI startups. A co‑creation model—where startups collaborate with GCCs rather than act merely as vendors—is essential to shorten the pilot‑to‑production cycle and achieve scale. Five structural pillars are needed to scale AI innovation: knowledge & capability building, resource access, market validation, funding access, and ethical/responsible AI. NPC proposes a three‑part framework for AI startups: Trust (privacy, security, accountability), Testbeds (real‑world sandboxes), and Traction (moving from pilots to full‑scale deployment). Responsible AI focuses on fairness and accountability, while ethical AI adds considerations of environmental impact and job creation; both are prerequisites for trust and scalability. Successful startup case studies (drone solutions, AI‑driven diagnostics, cybersecurity platforms, oncology treatment planning) illustrate how STPI support—early validation, funding, mentorship, and market exposure—translates into measurable impact. MOUs were signed between STPI and NPC, and between STPI and Thai Delhi NCR, formalising collaborative commitments to strengthen the AI startup ecosystem.
Resolutions and action items
Signing of MoU between STPI and National Productivity Council (NPC) to collaborate on AI ecosystem development. Signing of MoU between STPI and Thai Delhi NCR (TI) to expand joint accelerators, scaling of the Samarth program, corporate challenge initiatives, export readiness and AI benchmarking reports. STPI to continue enhancing its digital portal with additional features (e.g., product marketplace, hiring hub) and to nurture co‑creation platforms for GCC‑startup interaction. Stakeholders (STPI, GCCs, TI, NPC) agreed to move from isolated programs toward a coordinated strategy for AI innovation scaling. Commitment to develop joint accelerators and expand the Samarth initiative to provide deeper mentorship, market access and patient capital to startups.
Unresolved issues
How to ensure consistent, large‑scale access to high‑quality data sets and compute resources for AI startups across different regions. Specific mechanisms for operational and organizational readiness within enterprises to adopt AI solutions beyond pilot projects. Details of the joint Intellectual Property (IP) framework between STPI, GCCs and startups remain under discussion. Implementation plan for nationwide testbeds and sandbox environments to support the NPC ‘trust‑testbeds‑traction’ framework. Clear pathways for scaling startups from Tier‑2/3 incubators to global markets through GCCs are still being defined.
Suggested compromises
Adopting a co‑creation model that positions startups as partners rather than pure vendors, balancing the needs of startups for market access with GCCs’ risk‑aversion. Proposing a joint IP framework that protects startup innovations while allowing GCCs to integrate solutions—presented as a work‑in‑progress compromise. Shifting from competitive, siloed programs to collaborative, coordinated initiatives (e.g., joint accelerators, shared benchmarking) to address resource duplication.
Thought Provoking Comments
This portal is, I think, one of its kind portal, not just in India, but across the world. It includes a product marketplace, a hiring hub, and allows startups to post products and interact directly with viewers.
Introduces a comprehensive, integrated digital ecosystem that goes beyond traditional incubation, positioning STPI as a global‑scale facilitator for startups.
Set the foundation for the discussion by highlighting a concrete tool that can address many of the ecosystem challenges later mentioned. It prompted subsequent speakers to reference the portal’s role in validation, market access, and scaling.
Speaker: Sh. Rakesh Dubey
The scale is determined by the way your AI gets integrated into the global organization… the real challenge is institutionalisation, not the technology itself. GCCs act as the bridge and the co‑creation model is the only way AI startups can move from pilot to production.
Shifts focus from pure technology or funding to the organisational integration gap, proposing Global Capability Centers (GCCs) and a co‑creation model as the solution.
Created a turning point in the conversation, moving it from generic AI hype to concrete mechanisms for scaling. It sparked references from Geetika Dayal and Neerja Shekhar about ecosystem bridges and later influenced the MOU discussion on GCC‑startup collaboration.
Speaker: Sh. Bala MS (Strat Infinity)
There are five structural pillars needed for scaling innovation: knowledge and capability building, resource access, market validation, funding access, and ethical & responsible AI.
Provides a clear, systematic framework that synthesises the many strands of the discussion into actionable categories.
Offered a shared vocabulary that other speakers (e.g., Neerja Shekhar) used to structure their remarks. It guided the audience toward thinking about holistic ecosystem design rather than isolated interventions.
Speaker: Ms. Geetika Dayal
My three‑part framework for startups and ecosystem builders: trust, testbeds, and traction. Trust is the entry ticket; testbeds bridge promise and proof; traction turns pilots into scale.
Distills the scaling challenge into three concrete steps, linking ethical AI, real‑world experimentation, and market adoption.
Re‑focused the dialogue on practical implementation tools (trust mechanisms, sandbox environments) and reinforced the earlier co‑creation/GCC ideas. It also prompted the audience to consider concrete policy levers for each pillar.
Speaker: Ms. Neerja Shekhar
Responsible vs. ethical: ethical is about the CEO’s attitude toward environment, jobs, etc.; responsible means fairness, lack of bias, and accountability – e.g., who is liable if a driverless car causes an accident?
Clarifies two often‑confused concepts, introducing accountability as a core component of responsible AI, which is critical for large‑scale adoption.
Deepened the conversation on AI governance, prompting later speakers to stress accountability and safety in their frameworks. It also aligned with Neerja’s emphasis on trust and responsible AI.
Speaker: Arvind Kumar
The support we received through STPI’s Scout 2021 program was not just funding, it was validation. That early validation gave us the confidence to push forward.
Highlights the non‑monetary value of ecosystem support—validation and credibility—which is often overlooked in policy discussions.
Humanised the earlier technical discussion, reinforcing Rakesh Dubey’s claim about the portal’s value and providing a real‑world example of how early ecosystem touchpoints translate into growth.
Speaker: Devika Chandrasekaran (Co‑founder, Useless Innovations)
Overall Assessment

The discussion was driven forward by a series of conceptual pivots: first, the introduction of STPI’s integrated portal set a concrete baseline; then Bala’s articulation of the integration gap and the co‑creation model reframed the problem from funding to institutionalisation. Geetika’s five‑pillar framework and Neerja’s trust‑testbed‑traction model supplied actionable structures that the audience could rally around, while Arvind’s clarification of responsible versus ethical AI added depth to the governance debate. Finally, the founder’s testimony grounded the policy‑level ideas in lived experience. Together, these comments transformed the session from a ceremonial overview into a nuanced dialogue about how infrastructure, governance, and partnership models must align to scale AI innovation in India.

Follow-up Questions
How can AI startups obtain real, high‑quality data sets and the necessary compute infrastructure to develop and validate their models?
Bala highlighted that AI startups need access to real data and infrastructure, and identified this as a key gap that GCCs could help bridge.
Speaker: Bala MS
What should the design and governance of co‑creation platforms and enterprise sandboxes look like to accelerate the pilot‑to‑production cycle for AI startups?
He emphasized that co‑creation platforms are essential for reducing time to market and asked for concrete models to operationalise them.
Speaker: Bala MS
How can a joint intellectual‑property (IP) framework be structured between startups, GCCs, and other ecosystem partners?
Bala mentioned that a joint IP framework is under discussion and needs clarification to enable effective collaboration.
Speaker: Bala MS
What steps are needed to expand joint accelerators and scale up the Samarth program to support more AI startups?
She listed expanding joint accelerators and scaling Samarth as immediate priorities, indicating a need for a concrete expansion plan.
Speaker: Geetika Dayal
What metrics and methodology should be used to create AI benchmarking reports for the Indian ecosystem?
She suggested AI benchmarking reports as a tool for measuring ecosystem performance, requiring research into appropriate indicators.
Speaker: Geetika Dayal
What kinds of testbeds, sandboxes, and reference architectures are required to bridge the gap between AI prototypes and real‑world proof of concept?
Her three‑part framework (trust, testbeds, traction) calls for detailed design of test environments for startups.
Speaker: Neerja Sekhar
How can trust be built in AI solutions through privacy, security, transparency, accountability, and fairness mechanisms?
She identified trust as the entry ticket for AI adoption and called for concrete mechanisms to ensure it.
Speaker: Neerja Sekhar
What clear guidelines can differentiate ‘responsible’ versus ‘ethical’ AI, and how should accountability be assigned in AI‑driven products?
He noted confusion between these concepts and the need for clear standards, especially regarding liability for AI outcomes.
Speaker: Arvind Kumar
What are the root causes of the operational‑readiness gap that prevents enterprises from scaling AI beyond pilots, and how can they be addressed?
He pointed out that the main barrier is organizational readiness, not technology, indicating a need for research into change‑management strategies.
Speaker: Bala MS
How can GCCs effectively serve as pathways that connect AI startups with global enterprises to achieve scale?
He described GCCs as bridges between innovation velocity and enterprise scale, requiring models for integration.
Speaker: Bala MS
What productivity metrics and benchmarking models should NPC develop to quantify the impact of AI startups on national productivity and GDP?
She emphasized NPC’s role in measuring outcomes such as quality, efficiency, and reliability to drive productivity gains.
Speaker: Neerja Sekhar
How can the ecosystem move from isolated programs to a coordinated, collaborative strategy that maximises impact?
She called for a shift away from competition toward collaboration, implying the need for a unified roadmap.
Speaker: Geetika Dayal
What mechanisms can improve market access for AI startups through GCCs and large enterprises?
She identified market access as a major challenge for founders, suggesting research into partnership models.
Speaker: Geetika Dayal
What structured capability‑building programmes are most effective for founders to transition from innovation to market readiness?
She highlighted mentorship, market access, and funding levers, indicating a need to design comprehensive capability programs.
Speaker: Geetika Dayal
How can the STPI portal’s product marketplace and hiring hub be further enhanced to better serve startups and talent?
He described existing features and expressed openness to additional functionalities, implying further development research.
Speaker: Rakesh Dubey

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