In a moment of immense pride for the U.T of J&K, five budding and potential agri-entrepreneurs of Agri-Business Incubation Centre, SKUAST-J, nurtured under the patronage of Prof. B.N. Tripathi, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, SKUAST-J were selected by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, GoI for award of healthy grant-in-aid on the basis of their innovative agri-business presentations during the recently held Selection & Investment Committee (SIC) evaluation meeting at Pusa Krishi, ICAR/IARI, New Delhi. These start-ups were meticulously trained and mentored at ABI Centre, SKUAST-J during its agri-entrepreneurship training & funding programmes conducted by renowned academicians, industry leaders, successful start-ups, Chartered Accountants and professional trainers of national repute so as to give practical shape to their innovative ideas and convert them into market ready solutions. Prof. B.N. Tripathi, HVC, SKUAST-J congratulated the start-ups on their stupendous success and assured complete support and hand-holding from the side of University to all of them till they attain a full fledged successful commercial status. He was speaking during the 13th meeting of RIC members held on 20.03.2025 at SKUAST-J, Main Campus, Chatha to deliberate upon the various agendas pertaining to important matters of Agri-Business Incubation Centre, SKUAST-J. Prof. Tripathi reiterated that application portal for admission to agri-entrepreneurship training & funding programmes of ABI Centre, SKUAST-J should be kept open all round the year so that the interested potential agri-entrepreneurs get an even better scope of realizing their entrepreneurial dreams through ABI Centre, SKUAST-J. He suggested that awareness programmes and boot-camps should be conducted in nearby educational institutes including premier institutions like IIT & IIM-Jammu so as to generate interest and curiosity in the mind of youngsters towards the immense potential of agri-entrepreneurship thereby motivating them to look at it as their future career option. The committee consisted of learned members from different fields viz. Prof. S.K. Gupta, Director Research, SKUAST-J, Sh. Des Raj, DGM, NABARD, Sh. Satish Sharma, Jt. Director Agriculture (Extn.), Prof. Ashok Aima, Former Vice Chancellor, CUJ (online), Prof. Dileep Kachroo, Ex-Registrar, SKUAST-J (online), Sh. Annil Suri, M.D, A.B. Industries, Jammu & Mr. Vipul Shah, ICAR-IARI nominee, New Delhi who attended the meeting through online mode.
Earlier, Prof. Jyoti Kachroo, CEO/P.I, ABI Centre, SKUAST-J & Member Secretary, RIC, in her inaugural address outlined the recent progress of the incubation centre & informed the august house that the Knowledge Partner, Pusa Krishi & SIC evaluators appreciated the transparent monitoring & due diligence mechanism of ABIC, SKUAST-J during the recently held SIC meeting at New Delhi. She added that the incubation centre is constantly strengthening its legal corporate regulations for smooth and efficient start-up ecosystem management and has also added another facility in the form of a Krishi Branding centre for promotion and branding of processed agril. products. She informed the house that 8 batches of potential agri-entrepreneurs consisting of more than 107 incubatees have been trained at ABI Centre, SKUAST-J out of which 31 start-ups have been awarded with a total grant-in-aid sanction of Rs. 3.33 crores by the MoA & FW, GoI till now. The developed start-ups of ABI Centre, SKUAST-J are earning healthy revenue with some of the start-ups having reached an annual turnover of close to Rs. 10 crores. Some of the start-ups have also started export of their innovative products by expanding their business to foreign countries. Prof. Kachroo emphasized that ABI Centre, SKUAST-J is working tirelessly to transform the agri-business ecosystem of J&K U.T and shall continue to strive towards achieving this goal under the able guidance of HVC, SKUAST-J. The incubatees and grant winning start-ups also expressed their heartfelt gratitude towards the efforts made by ABI Centre, SKUAST-J under the mentorship of Prof. Jyoti Kachroo for nurturing and guiding them during their training journey. The proceedings of the meeting were conducted by Dr. Yamini Raut & Mr. Tarunjeet Singh from ABIC, SKUAST-J team. At the end, formal vote of thanks was presented by Prof. Jyoti Kachroo, CEO/P.I, ABI Centre, SKUAST-J thanking all the present dignitaries for their valuable time and participation.
