Agartala, Oct 01: Marking another significant milestone in the journey towards becoming a leading hub for innovation, entrepreneurship and digital empowerment, the Tripura government on Thursday launched three major initiatives-- the Tripura Seva First Innovation Challenge 2026, Mukhyamantri Yuba Yogayog Yojana (Academic Year 2025-26) and Digi-SAPNE 3.0.
Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha launched the initiatives, in the presence of Minister for IT Pranajit Singha Roy and Higher Education minister Kishor Barman.
An official press release said, the key initiatives were launched reinforcing the Government's commitment towards fostering innovation, empowering youth and strengthening the State's startup ecosystem.
The Chief Minister also opened the renovated Matangini Pritilata auditorium at Women's College, where the programme was held.
Kiran Gitte, Secretary to the Chief Minister, Information & Cultural Affairs Department, Dr. P. K. Goyal, Secretary, Information Technology & Finance, Jeya Ragul Geshan B., Director, Information Technology, Rajeshwar Singh Jenwar, Director & Head of Software Industry Promotion Division, Meity, Government of India and Dr. Gopalakrishna Prabhu, Vice Chancellor, Sikkim Manipal University, along with senior Government officials, startup founders, innovators, representatives of academic institutions, ecosystem stakeholders and students from across the State were present.
Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister emphasized the importance of fostering entrepreneurship, promoting technology adoption and empowering youth to become innovators and job creators.
The Chief Minister said, the future generation will become more technology-dependent. There is no dearth of talent in the young students of the state. Their talent must be bridged with technology. If that is done then they could involve themselves more with innovative works.
He said, the state government is trying to utilise the talent and innovative ideas of students and youth in developmental works. They will become the core architect of Viksit Bharat.
The Chief Minister said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken about converging technology with the young students for building Viksit Bharat. He has advised to utilise their innovative talent more and more for building Viksit Bharat.
Through Mann ki Baat and Pariksha Pe Charcha programmes the Prime Minister gives right direction of life to the youth and students and at the same time he does accept their ideas. As part of that initiative, Seva First Innovation Challenge 2026, Mukyamantri Yuva Yogayog Yojana and Digi-SAPNE 3.0 have been formulated.
The main idea behind Innovation Challenge is building Transparent and Stable India, Rich food giver and Prosperous India, Healthy and Integrated India, Educated and Skilled India and Protected India. And above all the goal is to associate people with the crucial sectors.
The Chief Minister said, at present there are more than 1,000 Innovative Centres across the country. Future generations must be engaged in these centres.
He said, during the last five years 63,249 youths have been provided Rs. 5000 each under Mukhyamantri Yuva Yogayog Yojana.
The idea behind Digi-SAPNE is to turn innovative ideas of educated youth into successful businesses. For this purpose the central government will provide grants upto Rs. 80 lakh.
The Chief Minister has urged the youth of the state to take advantage of this scheme.
At the event the Chief Minister handed over cheques worth Rs. 10 lakh each to 10 educated youths who have become successful startup entrepreneurs under Dig-SAPNE.
A key highlight of the event was the inauguration of the third edition of Digi-SAPNE (Digital Startup Accelerator Program for North East), a flagship startup acceleration programme implemented by AIC-SMUTBI in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India.
As the third edition of the programme, Digi-SAPNE continues to support technology-driven startups across the North Eastern Region through structured mentorship, business acceleration, investor connect and ecosystem support.
The launch of Digi-SAPNE 3.0 from Tripura reflects the growing momentum of the State's innovation and startup ecosystem.
Supported by the Sector Agnostic Tripura Start-Up Policy 2024, ongoing efforts to promote innovation and entrepreneurship, and strategic collaborations with national ecosystem partners, Tripura is steadily emerging as a promising destination for startup-led growth in the North Eastern Region, the press release said.
Initiatives such as Digi-SAPNE complement these efforts by providing startups with access to mentorship, business acceleration, industry networks and market opportunities, thereby fostering innovation and promoting entrepreneurship-driven economic development.
The participation of startups from Tripura in initiatives such as Digi-SAPNE reflects the growing strength of the State's innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem and the increasing ability of local startups to leverage national and regional growth opportunities.
Notably, three startups from Tripura Cubo Bots, Acuvea Healthcare Technologies and HN Technovations- were selected under previous editions of Digi-SAPNE, showcasing the entrepreneurial talent and innovation potential emerging from the State.
During the programme, the eight startups selected under Digi-SAPNE 2.0 were felicitated and recognised for their achievements, highlighting the impact of the initiative in nurturing promising technology-driven ventures across the North Eastern Region.
Emphasizing the importance of nurturing innovation, creativity and entrepreneurial thinking among students, Kishor Barman, Minister for Higher Education, Panchayat, General Administration (Political), highlighted that initiatives such as the Tripura Seva First Innovation Challenge 2026 and the Mukhyamantri Yuba Yogayog Yojana are creating new opportunities for students to engage with technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.
He noted that educational institutions have a critical role in developing future innovators and job creators and welcomed efforts to expand innovation and entrepreneurship activities across higher educational institutions in the State.
According to a press release, the three initiatives collectively represent the Government's integrated approach towards strengthening digital empowerment, innovation and entrepreneurship.
While the Mukhyamantri Yuba Yogayog Yojana is expanding digital access for students, the Tripura Seva First Innovation Challenge 2026 is encouraging innovation-driven problem solving, and Digi-SAPNE 3.0 is creating new opportunities for startup growth and entrepreneurship.
The IT Department encouraged students, innovators and startups to actively participate in these initiatives and contribute towards Tripura's innovation-led growth journey.
Highlighting the progress achieved under the Sector Agnostic Tripura Start-Up Policy 2024, Dr. P. K. Goyal, Secretary, Information Technology & Finance, noted that the Government has been actively supporting startups through policy incentives, startup recognition, mentoring, incubation support, market access initiatives and ecosystem partnerships.
He stated that the encouraging response received from entrepreneurs reflects the growing confidence in Tripura's evolving startup ecosystem and the effectiveness of the State's efforts to promote innovation and entrepreneurship.
In his speech, Jeya Ragul Geshan B., Director, Information Technology, highlighted the various initiatives being undertaken by the Directorate to strengthen the State's innovation and startup ecosystem through Startup Tripura, T-RISE, T-NEST and NGIN. He also highlighted collaborations with leading ecosystem partners to expand access to mentoring, incubation support, market opportunities and ecosystem linkages for startups and innovators.
The programme brought together startup founders, aspiring entrepreneurs, innovators, students, academic institutions, government departments and ecosystem partners, creating opportunities for collaboration, networking, knowledge exchange and ecosystem building while fostering stronger linkages between startups, academia, industry and government.
It is worthy to mention here, Tripura has witnessed significant progress in startup ecosystem development over the past year, reflected in the growing participation of innovators and entrepreneurs, expansion of mentoring and incubation support mechanisms, and stronger engagement with national innovation and entrepreneurship networks.