Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai laid the foundation stone for an Rs 88.76-crore Centre of Excellence for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Raipur, as the state looks to expand its research and startup ecosystem.
The facility, named the Shrimati Mithilesh Agrawal Centre of Excellence for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Engineering and Technology (MACIEET), will come up on the NIT Raipur campus. It is being developed through a partnership between the Chhattisgarh government, NIT Raipur and the Motilal Oswal Foundation.
Addressing the foundation stone-laying ceremony, CM Sai said the state government wanted to create an environment in which young people could pursue their ideas and establish businesses without having to move to metropolitan cities.
"Our government is creating an environment where young people do not have to move to metropolitan cities to realise their dreams, but can develop new innovations, establish industries and generate employment opportunities for others right here in Chhattisgarh," CM Sai said.
He said the state had young people with considerable talent and potential, but they needed access to modern resources, guidance and opportunities. He urged students to take their academic innovations towards commercial ventures and assured them of government support.
The centre will provide facilities for research, technology development and prototype creation, with the aim of helping students and aspiring entrepreneurs turn their ideas into commercially viable products. It will have startup incubation and co-working spaces, smart classrooms, conference halls, exhibition areas, an amphitheatre and residential facilities.
Entrepreneurs will also be able to access expert mentorship and connect with investors, banks and government schemes. Students from engineering colleges, polytechnics and industrial training institutes (ITIs), along with working professionals, are expected to benefit from the facility.
The project follows a tripartite memorandum of understanding signed in August 2025 between the Chhattisgarh government, NIT Raipur and the Motilal Oswal Foundation. The foundation had committed Rs 172 crore towards education and innovation initiatives at NIT Raipur and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Raipur. Of this amount, Rs 71 crore was earmarked for NIT Raipur, while Rs 101 crore was allocated to IIM Raipur.
Under the agreement, the centre at NIT Raipur is intended to focus on deep-tech fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain, the Internet of Things and clean energy. The original plan envisaged the facility becoming fully operational by 2027-28.
The 2025 agreement also set targets for the centre to train more than 10,000 young people, incubate over 250 startups and support the creation of more than 5,000 skilled jobs by 2030. These are projected outcomes under the partnership.
CM Sai said the state was also working towards establishing semiconductor units and developing an artificial intelligence data centre park in Nava Raipur. The government is undertaking infrastructure and connectivity improvements and seeking to create an investor-friendly environment to attract industries.
NIT Raipur has also been expanding its industry-linked research activities. Earlier this month, the institute's IndiaAI Centre of Excellence and its Foundation for Innovation and Entrepreneurship signed a five-year agreement with the Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation to develop artificial intelligence-based solutions for the mining and minerals sector.
The partnership will connect the corporation's operational requirements with the institute's research capabilities and the work of students and startups. It is expected to support projects involving advanced technologies for mining and mineral-sector applications.
In October, NIT Raipur also signed an agreement with deep-tech startup Avkalan Labs to work on computational engineering, advanced simulation and artificial intelligence. The collaboration includes joint research, industrial training, student internships and industry-sponsored postgraduate and doctoral research.
The new centre is expected to provide a dedicated institutional base for similar collaborations, while giving early-stage ventures access to research infrastructure, technical expertise and industry networks.
NIT Raipur's existing Foundation for Innovation and Entrepreneurship operates as a technology business incubator, supporting startup development through mentoring and institutional resources. The new Centre of Excellence is part of the state's wider effort to build stronger links between technical education, research and enterprise.