Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has officially inaugurated dedicated incubation centres across seven premier educational institutions in the state under the umbrella of the Arunachal Pradesh Entrepreneurship Development Programme, designed to empower youth by transforming innovative concepts into viable commercial enterprises. The newly established incubation facilities are located at Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh University, Arunachal University of Studies, the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Jote, the North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology (NERIST), Dera Natung Government College, and Dorjee Khandu Government College in Tawang. During the inaugural address, Chief Minister Khandu emphasized that these centres will function as vital hubs, offering students essential access to professional guidance, specialized skill training, mentorship, and comprehensive structural support required to build sustainable businesses and drive local employment generation. Alongside the launch of the incubation hubs, the state government unveiled a series of robust policy measures aimed at significantly strengthening the regional startup ecosystem, most notably doubling the annual intake capacity for supported startups from 50 to 100 enterprises. Furthermore, the revised framework substantially scales up financial assistance, increasing seed funding tiers from ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh in one category and from ₹4 lakh to ₹8 lakh in another. To foster diverse economic avenues, the administration introduced the Arunachal Creative Economy (ACE) initiative to help young creators monetize artistic and cultural ventures, alongside the establishment of the Institute for Transforming Arunachal (ITA) as an expert think tank to provide strategic policy direction for regional development. To bridge critical funding gaps, Khandu announced an upcoming startup-investor meet to connect local founders directly with venture capitalists and expand external investment access. Additionally, the government will launch the YES Arunachal portal as a streamlined single-window digital platform enabling young entrepreneurs to seamlessly access various Central and state welfare and developmental schemes, reinforcing the state’s broader commitment to fostering grassroots innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainable youth-led economic growth.
