Sixty-five student-led inventions were awarded Rs 40.5 lakh under Tamil Nadu's Innovation Voucher and School Innovation Development programmes, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) Minister TM Anbarasan announced at an event at Anna University on Tuesday, July 15.

The state has significantly ramped up support for student innovation and entrepreneurship, awarding Rs 12.73 crore to young inventors and training over 30 lakh students and youth through state-led initiatives, stated a report by The New Indian Express.

"At Tamil Nadu's Entrepreneurship Development and Innovation Institute (EDII), we identify and nurture young innovators with mentoring, prize money, and financial support," Anbarasan said, adding many of the awardees are government school students whose inventions address real-world challenges.

Among the innovations showcased were a robotic road roller, a safety belt for ship workers, and a pineapple harvesting device-developed by school and college students across the state.

Over the past four years, the EDII has trained more than 71,000 individuals, with another 19,000 expected this year. Its School Innovation Development Programme has reached 21.8 lakh students across 8,000 government and aided schools.

The state has also established 124 incubation centres in colleges, investing Rs 21 crore to upgrade 39 of them. Nearly 1,000 student ventures have taken shape through these centres.

The new Nimirndhu Nil scheme aims to support 10,000 student entrepreneurs over five years with a Rs 19.57 crore outlay. An additional 9,000 youth in Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns will receive skills and entrepreneurship training in areas including AI, e-commerce, and product manufacturing, the minister said, according to the report by The New Indian Express.

Under the Tamil Nadu Startup Seed Fund (TANSEED), Rs 69.99 crore has been invested in 205 start-ups, including Rs 51.2 crore in Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST)-led ventures.