Students learn about various technologies at the exhibition in Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati
Bhubaneswar, Oct. 10: Setting up business firms will get easier for young entrepreneurs as an incubation centre will come up at Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology here.
The Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT) is a premier research laboratory functioning under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in the eastern region.
The institute will train budding entrepreneurs in various sectors to set up start-ups in the fields of food processing, agriculture and floriculture, water, leather and energy among others.
'Entrepreneurs can make use of around 35 technologies developed by the institute. They can also utilise the facilities available here, along with the machineries and equipment,' said institute director Santosh Kumar Mishra.
The centre will also provide facilities for free office space and Internet. Apart from entrepreneurs, progressive farmers and students, too, can avail themselves of the facilities at the incubation centre. This apart, it will provide skill development programme apart from infrastructural facilities to start-ups.
'We have given the proposal to the state and central governments. Work on the incubation centre will start once funds are released,' Mishra said.
He further said the institute had taken up initiatives to deploy technologies developed by the CSIR laboratories for the benefit of entrepreneurs and farmers of the state.
The centre, to be set up at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore, will be funded by the council, state government and the Atal Incubation Centres.
A three-day science exhibition began on the institute premises today to showcase the contributions of the council to the nation in the past 75 years. The exhibition is the concluding part of the council's platinum jubilee celebrations that kicked off on September 26 in New Delhi.
It is showcasing the council's achievements in 14 areas, which include more than 500 technologies and products that help students, farmers and entrepreneurs.
The exhibition has a host of attractions for school and college students, researchers, academicians, farmers, businesspersons and entrepreneurs. Popular science lectures, interaction with scientists and science quiz competitions are being organised as a part of the celebrations.
