Union minister Dr Jitendra Singh launched the State Innovation Mission in Agartala, saying the programme will extend innovation beyond laboratories to districts and villages. He framed it as an effort to institutionalise district level innovation and to convert local ideas into scalable enterprises. The launch was attended by the chief minister of Tripura and senior national and state officials, along with startup founders, students and industry representatives. The minister described the mission as a progression of the Atal Innovation Mission and said it has grown from nearly 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs to plans for 50,000 more. He said the Union Cabinet decision to promote State Innovation Missions reflects cooperative and competitive federalism. He highlighted Tripura’s entrepreneurship performance, noting the state has over 150 registered startups and an average growth of around 66 per cent in recognitions over five years, with a significant share led by women. He pointed to the state’s MSME base of 3.13 lakh registrations, equivalent to 0.313 million (mn), noting substantial formal and micro enterprise presence. The mission is expected to accelerate commercialisation and employment generation. At national level, he recalled that India’s startup ecosystem has grown from a few hundred ventures in 2014 to over 0.2 million (mn) today, generating more than 2.1 million (mn) jobs, with nearly half emerging from Tier two and Tier three cities. He said leveraging local strengths such as bamboo and rubber could support high value manufacturing linked to national priorities. He cited policy support for deep tech and research driven enterprises, including a Rs 10,000 crore fund of funds now stated as Rs 100 billion (bn) and a Rs 1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation Fund equivalent to Rs 1 trillion (tn). He added that integrating artificial intelligence and digital tools into state programmes is expected to promote equity and reach underserved communities.