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Impact After Term | 13 : iTNT Hub — Scaling Tamil Nadu's Deep Tech Ecosystem (Part 2) Establishing iTNT Hub was only the first step. The larger vision was to ensure that Tamil Nadu's emerging Deep Tech ecosystem extended beyond Chennai, enabling innovators, researchers and entrepreneurs across the State to participate in the technologies shaping the future. Under the leadership of Dr. PTR as Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services, iTNT Hub expanded through regional centres in Tiruchirappalli, Madurai and Coimbatore. By bringing world-class infrastructure, mentoring, industry partnerships and access to investment closer to Tier-II and Tier-III cities, the initiative laid the foundation for a more decentralised innovation ecosystem. To strengthen early-stage Deep Tech entrepreneurship, the FOUNDATION Fund was launched, through which the first five startups received ₹53 lakh in seed funding. The Deep Tech Hardware Product Design Scheme further supported indigenous hardware innovation by providing grants of up to ₹15 lakh for product design and development. Recognising that innovation achieves its greatest value only when research reaches the marketplace, the Tamil Nadu Technology Transfer Facilitation Centre (TNTTFC) was established in July 2025. Through patent facilitation, IP management, Innovation Spotlight and the Research2Revenue programme, the initiative has already enabled more than 60 patent filings while helping researchers translate ideas into commercially viable technologies. Announced by Dr. PTR in the Legislative Assembly in June 2024 and successfully held on 30 July 2025, the Innovate in TN IP Conclave strengthened Tamil Nadu's intellectual property ecosystem. Bringing together organisations such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Indian Patent Office, NASSCOM, C-DAC, Bosch and Mahindra & Mahindra, the conclave showcased 16 emerging technologies, facilitated four technology transfers to industry, and connected 44 researchers and startups with iTNT Hub's pre-incubation and acceleration programmes. During this period, iTNT Hub also expanded Tamil Nadu's global innovation network through collaborations with leading universities, research institutions and industry partners in India and abroad. Partnerships with organisations such as the University of Melbourne, Rutgers University, Bosch, Amazon Web Services, Rolls-Royce, C-DAC and others opened new opportunities for technology collaboration, industry engagement and global market access for startups. These initiatives culminated in the launch of the Tamil Nadu Deep Tech Startup Policy at UmagineTN 2026, providing the State with its first comprehensive policy framework dedicated to accelerating Deep Tech innovation, strengthening research commercialisation and building globally competitive technology enterprises. Together, these initiatives transformed iTNT Hub from an innovation platform into a comprehensive Deep Tech ecosystem—connecting research, entrepreneurship, industry, investment and public policy. In doing so, they strengthened Tamil Nadu's position as one of India's leading destinations for frontier technology and innovation. — Admin Team

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Dencil Appavoo @dencilappavoo

10 days ago

@DrSharmila15 So many leeches in disguise, I’m somewhat happy for loosing this election, otherwise we will never know these chameleons. Hope @mkstalin @arivalayam also have similar views on these chameleons. @Udhaystalin @ptrmadurai

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