Agartala, Feb 27: With the Inspiration of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, and under the dynamic leadership of Chief Minister Professor Doctor Manik Saha, with the continued guidance of Minister for Information Technology, Finance, Planning & Coordination Shri Pranajit Singha Roy, the Government of Tripura has been steadfastly advancing the State’s startup and innovation ecosystem. In recent years, Tripura has witnessed a steady rise in entrepreneurial aspirations, driven by its vibrant youth, active academic institutions, and progressive policy support.
In this direction, the Government of Tripura through Directorate of Information Technology introduced the New Sector-Agnostic Tripura Start-Up Policy in 2025, marking a significant transition from the earlier IT/ITeS Start-Up Scheme, 2019. The policy adopts an inclusive and forward-looking framework, promoting innovation across diverse sectors including agriculture, tourism, forest-based industries, healthcare, IT services, and rural technologies. Nearly 100 startups have already been approved under the policy, reflecting the State’s growing entrepreneurial momentum and its commitment to fostering a resilient and innovation-driven economy.
Taking a landmark step toward institutionalizing innovation support, Chief Minister Manik Saha inaugurated Tripura’s first premier incubation and innovation hub — T-NEST (Tripura: Nurturing Entrepreneurship and Startups) — during the launch of the Tripura State Innovation Mission (SIM) at Agartala. Conceived as a flagship initiative of the Directorate of Information Technology, T-NEST will function as the State’s central platform for structured startup incubation and ecosystem convergence.
The programme was graced by Shri Suman Bery, Hon’ble Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog; Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State, Government of India; Shri V. K. Saraswat, Hon’ble Member, NITI Aayog; Shri Pranajit Singha Roy, Hon’ble Minister, IT, Finance & Planning, Government of Tripura; Shri Jitendra Kumar Sinha, IAS, Chief Secretary, Government of Tripura; Shri Rajib Kumar Sen, Programme Director, NITI Aayog, Shri Kiran Gitte, IAS, Secretary, IT & Good Governance, Government of Tripura; and Shri Jeya Ragul Geshan B, IFS, Director, IT & Head, Startup Tripura, Government of Tripura and other dignataries.
Established as a state-level plug-and-play incubation facility at the International Business Centre Building, Hapania, Agartala, T-NEST has been developed over approximately 36,000 sq. ft. of dedicated space. The centre offers ready-to-use office spaces, co-working areas, conference facilities, an auditorium, high-speed connectivity, and structured mentoring and advisory support. It aims to provide early-stage startups with comprehensive infrastructure and institutional backing to transform innovative ideas into sustainable enterprises.
T-NEST is envisioned as a convergence platform bringing together government, academia, industry, investors, and entrepreneurs to foster youth-led innovation, local employment generation, and regional economic growth in the Northeastern region.
Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister described T-NEST as “Tripura’s innovation operating system” — the execution arm of Startup Tripura. He emphasized that it would serve as a bridge between policy and practice, connecting campuses to markets, ideas to investments, and innovation to impact. Drawing inspiration from national best practices such as T-Hub and NSRCEL, T-NEST follows a program-first approach with structured incubation pathways spanning scouting, pre-incubation, pilot implementation, and investment readiness.
The hub will prioritize sectors of strategic importance to Tripura, including agri-tech, bamboo and forest-based industries, tourism, health-tech, digital services, and rural innovation. It also promotes a “Government-as-First- Customer” model, enabling startups to design and pilot governance-driven solutions in collaboration with State departments.
Shri Kiran Gitte, IAS, Secretary, Information Technology & Good Governance, Government of Tripura, in his address, emphasized that T-NEST represents a strategic shift from scheme-based support to an institution-based innovation framework. He highlighted that the Government’s objective is to build a sustainable, process-driven incubation ecosystem with measurable outcomes in terms of startup growth, technology adoption, and job creation. He further noted that the integration of good governance principles with digital innovation will enable startups to co-create solutions for public service delivery, thereby strengthening transparency, efficiency, and citizen-centric governance. He expressed confidence that the collaboration with T-Hub will bring national-level expertise and structured programme management to ensure quality incubation and global exposure for Tripura’s entrepreneurs.
Designed with a lean yet high-quality operational framework, T-NEST will provide structured mentoring, legal and compliance assistance, intellectual property facilitation, and investment readiness support. It will be guided by an advisory board comprising representatives from government, academia, industry, investors, and startup founders. Sustainability will be ensured through a blend of government support, CSR partnerships, and corporate innovation programmes.
Over the next 24 months, T-NEST aims to support 30–60 startups, facilitate pilot deployments, and attract investor participation. The initiative aligns with national missions such as Startup India, Atal Innovation Mission, and Digital India. It will further be complemented by the upcoming Incubation and Innovation Park at Chandmari, Agartala and the proposed Tripura IT & Data Economic Zone (TIDEZ), envisioned to catalyse IT, ITeS, and data centre ecosystems in the State.
The dignitaries — Dr Jitendra Singh, Shri Suman Bery, Shri V. K. Saraswat and Shri Rajib Kumar Sen — lauded Tripura’s progressive initiatives and underscored that T-NEST has the potential to emerge as a model incubation framework for other States.
A significant highlight of the event was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Directorate of Information Technology, Government of Tripura, and T-Hub, one of India’s leading startup incubators. Under this collaboration, T-Hub will serve as the Knowledge Partner for the New Tripura Start-Up Policy launched in 2025, providing structured mentoring, access to domain experts, investor connect opportunities, and capacity-building support to startups from Tripura.
Shri Jeya Ragul Geshan B, IFS, Director, Information Technology & Head, Startup Tripura, in his remarks, stated that T-NEST is not merely a physical incubation space but a mission-driven institutional platform designed to create measurable outcomes in terms of startup survival, scalability, and employment generation. He emphasized that the focus will be on structured programme delivery, strong governance mechanisms, and continuous ecosystem engagement to ensure that Tripura’s startups are competitive at the national level. He further highlighted that the partnership with T-Hub will bring global best practices, structured mentorship, and investor access to the State, thereby accelerating Tripura’s transformation into a vibrant innovation hub of the Northeast.
The programme also featured a vibrant exhibition showcasing innovative products and solutions developed by 25 nos local startups. Around 16 nos Student-led projects from 8 nos technical institutions under the New Generation Innovation Network (NGIN) scheme were displayed, offering young innovators a platform for exposure and engagement. The exhibition facilitated meaningful interactions among startups, investors, industry representatives, policymakers, and citizens, reflecting a collective commitment toward strengthening Tripura’s innovation landscape.
With the inauguration of T-NEST and the formalization of its partnership with T-Hub, the Government of Tripura has reaffirmed its resolve to build an innovation-led growth model aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 and state vision of Vikshit Tripura 2047. By synergizing with flagship national initiatives such as Startup India, Digital India, Atmanirbhar Bharat, and the IndiaAI Mission, Tripura is poised to emerge as a vibrant hub of entrepreneurship and technological advancement in the Northeastern region of India.