**Executive Summary**
The Bharat Innovates Deep-Tech Pre-Summit, held at IIT Bombay on March 22, 2026, served as a national precursor to the upcoming Bharat Innovates 2026 global showcase in Nice, France. Chaired by Union Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, the event aimed to advance deep-tech innovation, strengthen industry-academia partnerships, and prepare 137 selected startups to represent India on the global stage. Key activities included investor roundtables, startup pitching sessions, and exhibitions of research-driven solutions across diverse sectors.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Event Purpose and Global Outlook**
* The pre-summit acts as a foundational session for Bharat Innovates 2026, scheduled to be held in France to showcase Indian R&D-driven innovations globally.
* The initiative seeks to position India as a global hub for technology-driven innovation, particularly for cost-effective and scalable solutions for the Global South.
* The platform enables the convergence of ideas, talent, and resources to accelerate the pace of innovation.
* **Startup Engagement and Selection**
* A total of 137 promising deep-tech startups were featured, selected from a pool of over 1,186 applications across India.
* Founders participated in pitching sessions to present cutting-edge technologies to investors and industry leaders.
* The event fostered interactions between startups and venture capital firms to explore pathways for commercialization and global expansion.
* **Sectoral Focus and Innovation**
* Showcased innovations spanned diverse sectors including Energy, Semiconductors, Space & Defence, Healthcare & MedTech, and Advanced Computing.
* Specific technical focus areas included artificial intelligence, biotechnology, clean technologies, advanced materials, and next-generation manufacturing systems (Industry 4.0).
* The event emphasized the transition of innovation "from labs to markets" to create real-world impact.
* **Stakeholder Collaboration**
* A roundtable discussion involved approximately 175 investors and industry leaders alongside academic representatives.
* Discussions centered on reinforcing the startup ecosystem through sustained investment and policy support.
* The event brought together leadership from the Ministry of Education, Department of Higher Education, and the Department of Science and Technology.
**Impact Analysis**
**Deep-Tech Startups**
**Impact**
Startups received national visibility and the opportunity to pitch directly to investors and venture capital firms. They are now positioned as representatives of India's innovation ecosystem for a global audience.
**Action Required**
Selected startups must continue developing their technologies to prepare for the Bharat Innovates 2026 international showcase in France.
**Investors and Industry Leaders**
**Impact**
These stakeholders gained early access to 137 high-potential startups and research-driven solutions. The summit provided a structured environment to evaluate opportunities for collaboration, investment, and global market expansion.
**Action Required**
Investors are encouraged to provide sustained investment in emerging ventures to enable scaling and support research-led entrepreneurship.
**Academia and Research Institutions**
**Impact**
The event reinforced the importance of industry-academia partnerships and provided a platform to showcase institutional innovations from labs like the IIT pavilion.
**Action Required**
Academic institutions must focus on fostering meaningful collaborations with industry to ensure that research-driven solutions are moved effectively from the laboratory to the commercial market.
Key Entities Referenced
Bharat Innovates 2026: A global showcase initiative led by the Ministry of Education to project Indian R&D and deep-tech innovations on the international stage in Nice, France.
Bharat Innovates Deep-Tech Pre Summit: A national precursor event designed to select promising deep-tech startups and foster collaboration between academia, investors, and industry leaders.
Ministry of Education: The primary government ministry leading the initiative to promote research-led entrepreneurship and strengthen India’s innovation ecosystem.
Shri Dharmendra Pradhan: The Union Minister of Education who chaired the summit's roundtable and underscored the commitment to supporting innovators through policy and institutional collaboration.
IIT Bombay, Mumbai: The central institutional venue hosting the pre-summit and serving as a hub for showcasing cutting-edge research-driven solutions.
Ministry of Education
Bharat Innovates reflects India’s rise as a Global
Innovation Hub – Shri Dharmendra Pradhan
Union Education Minister addresses concluding session of
Bharat Innovates Deep-Tech Pre Summit at IIT Bombay
Posted On: 22 MAR 2026 4:58PM by PIB Mumbai
Mumbai, 22nd March 2026
Union Minister of Education Shri Dharmendra Pradhan addressed the concluding session of Bharat
Innovates Deep-Tech Pre Summit at IIT Bombay, today.
On the sidelines of the pre-summit , around 175 investors and industry leaders participated in a roundtable
chaired by the Union Education Minister. He also interacted with innovators across diverse sectors
including, Energy, Climate & Sustainability, Semiconductors, Space & Defence, Healthcare & MedTech,
Advanced Computing, Biotechnology, Mobility & Smart Cities and Industry 4.0, showcasing cutting-
edge, research-driven solutions, during a walkthrough of the exhibition stalls and IIT pavilion showcasing
institutional innovations.The Minister participated in a round-table discussions with investors and academia. He said that as a
precursor to Bharat Innovates 2026 to be organised in Nice, France, today’s brainstorming session centred
on advancing deep-tech innovation, strengthening industry–academia partnerships, and reinforcing the
startup ecosystem. He underscored the need for sustained investment in emerging ventures to enable scale,
encourage innovation and support research-led entrepreneurship.
He further stated that, Bharat Innovates 2026, being led by the Ministry of Education, aims to carry R&D-
driven innovations from every corner of the country to the global stage, showcasing cutting-edge
technologies while fostering meaningful collaboration, unlocking investment opportunities and building
enduring global partnerships.
The closing ceremony was also attended by Dr. K. Radhakrishnan, Chairperson, Board of Governors of
IIT Bombay and former Chairman ISRO; Dr. Vineet Joshi, Secretary, Department of Higher Education;
Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology; and Prof. Shireesh Kedare,
Director, IIT Bombay.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Pradhan said that Bharat Innovates is a testament to India’s growing
strength as a global innovation hub. He highlighted that the participation of thousands of startups and
showcasing of cutting-edge technologies reflect the vibrancy and depth of India’s innovation ecosystem.
He observed that India is uniquely positioned to develop solutions not just for itself, but also for the world,
especially Global South and countries seeking cost-effective and scalable innovations. He added that
Bharat Innovates as a platform enables the convergence of ideas, talent and resources, thereby accelerating
the pace of innovation.
Shri Pradhan reiterated the Government’s commitment to supporting innovators through policy support,
institutional collaboration and an enabling environment. He emphasized that innovation must move from
labs to markets to create real impact. He expressed confidence that the innovations showcased at Bharat
Innovates pre-summit will contribute significantly to India’s journey towards global leadership, especially
Global South in technology and entrepreneurship.The pre-Summit, organised as a national precursor to the Bharat Innovates 2026 global showcase in
France, brought together 137 promising deep-tech startups selected from over 1,186 applications received
from across the country.
Today's pre-summit held at IIT Bombay featured startup pitching sessions, where founders presented
cutting-edge innovations spanning advanced materials, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, clean
technologies and next-generation manufacturing systems. These sessions were attended by investors,
industry leaders and key stakeholders from the innovation ecosystem evaluating opportunities for
collaboration and investment.
The event also featured interactions between startups, venture capital firms and industry representatives,
fostering meaningful partnerships and enabling startups to explore pathways for commercialization and
global market expansion.
The Bharat Innovates Deep-Tech Pre-Summit at IIT Bombay marked an important milestone in India’s
innovation journey by bringing together academia, startups, investors and policymakers on a single
platform. The selected startups are envisaged to work towards representing India’s deep-tech ecosystem at
the upcoming Bharat Innovates 2026 international showcase in France, further strengthening India’s
position as a global hub for technology-driven innovation.
For more information, visit https://bharatinnovates.in/
https://x.com/dpradhanbjp/status/2035654233643757754?s=20
https://x.com/dpradhanbjp/status/2035673340770447847?s=20
https://x.com/dpradhanbjp/status/2035689926252233102?s=20
https://x.com/dpradhanbjp/status/2035691494284439591?s=20
***
Sriyanka Chattarjee/Parshuram Kor
Follow us on social media: @PIBMumbai /PIBMumbai /pibmumbai pibmumbai[at]gmail[dot]com /PI
BMumbai /pibmumbai(Release ID: 2243590) Visitor Counter : 106
Read this release in: Marathi