Early Times Report
JAMMU, Mar 20: In a proud moment for Jammu & Kashmir, five agri-entrepreneurs from the Agri-Business Incubation (ABI) Centre, SKUAST-J have been awarded a grant-in-aid by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, GoI for their innovative agri-business ideas. The recognition came after their impressive presentations at the Selection & Investment Committee (SIC) meeting held at Pusa Krishi, ICAR/IARI, New Delhi.
Congratulating the winners, Prof. B.N. Tripathi, Vice Chancellor, SKUAST-J, assured full support from the university in their journey toward becoming successful commercial ventures. Speaking at the 13th meeting of the Research & Innovation Committee (RIC) at SKUAST-J, he emphasized the need to keep the ABI Centre's admission portal open year-round to encourage more agri-entrepreneurs. He also suggested conducting awareness programs and boot camps at premier institutes like IIT and IIM-Jammu to inspire youth toward agri-entrepreneurship.
During the meeting, Prof. Jyoti Kachroo, CEO/P.I, ABI Centre, SKUAST-J, highlighted the transparent monitoring mechanisms of the incubation centre, which were appreciated by SIC evaluators. She shared that so far, the ABI Centre has trained 107 incubatees across eight batches, leading to 31 start-ups receiving a total grant of ?3.33 crores. Some of these start-ups have reached an annual turnover of ?10 crores and even expanded to international markets.
The meeting was attended by distinguished members from academia, industry, and government, including Prof. S.K. Gupta (Director Research, SKUAST-J), Des Raj (DGM, NABARD), Satish Sharma (Jt. Director Agriculture), Prof. Ashok Aima (Former VC, CUJ), and industry leaders like Annil Suri (M.D, A.B. Industries). The session concluded with a vote of thanks by Prof. Kachroo, expressing gratitude to all dignitaries for their valuable insights and participation. |
