Start-ups and livelihoods

SDG 1.3Start-ups and livelihoods

UPES runs a full support system for people in and around Dehradun who want to turn a sustainable idea into a business: incubators, grants and investment, mentoring, training and community programmes that reach well beyond its own students.

Incubators open to the community

• Runway Incubator. Launched in 2021, Runway offers mentoring, grants, legal and incorporation support and workspace through an 8–10 week blended incubation programme. It is recognised by the Government of Uttarakhand as a nodal agency for Startup Uttarakhand, and has supported more than 250 start-ups. Source: Runway Incubator, UPES start-ups and innovation, Runway to success: Uttarakhand incubator (YourStory), UPES awards ₹3 crore in start-up funding (Greater Kashmir).

  See also: World IP Day webinar, Become a Community Problem Solver at GIC Paundha.

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• Inclusive Technology Business Incubator and Ignition Grants. UPES received a ₹5 crore grant under NIDHI i-TBI for an inclusive technology business incubator. Its Ignition Grant 2.0 gives early-stage innovators up to ₹10 lakh in non-dilutive funding with mentoring, and every strong venture in a Runway cohort can receive a ₹1 lakh Ignition Grant. Source: UPES Start-Up University, UPES DST-iTBI Ignition Grant 2.0, UPES start-ups and innovation.

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• UPES Council for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (UCIE). Open to the external business community as well as UPES students, alumni and staff, UCIE has worked with 32 incubatee organisations and is knowledge partner to JumpStart, Uttarakhand's first private co-working hub and incubator. Source: UPES Council for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
• SWACHH Incubation Centre and BIRAC SPARSH. The SWACHH Incubation Centre is funded by a BIRAC grant, and UPES channels a ₹4.02 crore BIRAC SPARSH grant to health-tech start-ups building affordable health care. Source: UPES start-ups and innovation, UPES Research, UPES awards ₹3 crore in start-up funding (Greater Kashmir), UPES Start-Up University.

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Funding and support for founders

• The Pitch. UPES's investor showcase awarded about ₹3 crore to start-ups from across India in July 2025, including Envinova Smartech, which works on sustainable solar solutions. The Pitch 3.0 in 2026 offers up to ₹25 lakh per start-up, and up to ₹50 lakh for exceptional AI-led ventures. Source: UPES awards ₹3 crore in start-up funding (Greater Kashmir), UPES fuels start-up dreams at The Pitch (GUS news), The Pitch 3.0 (India Education Diary).

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• Protecting ideas. As Uttarakhand's Technology and Innovation Support Centre since 2023, UPES helps local innovators protect their inventions. On 3 September 2025 it held a workshop with Startup Uttarakhand and UCOST on intellectual property for MSMEs and start-ups. Source: UPES R&D Newsletter, July–December 2025, pp. 10 and 19.

  See also: World IP Day webinar.

  

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• World IP Day webinar. Runway hosted a World IP Day webinar with a Government of India patent examiner on 28 April 2025. Source: UPES R&D Newsletter, January–June 2025, Event report: World IP Day webinar.

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• Government support schemes. In 2025 a senior official of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) visited UPES to explain schemes such as PRISM, which funds innovations by individuals, start-ups and MSMEs. Source: UPES R&D Newsletter, January–June 2025, Event report: Government support schemes.

  

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• Funds for founders from smaller towns. Runway channels ₹2 crore under MeitY's GENESIS scheme for start-ups in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, a ₹60 lakh pool under HDFC Bank's Parivartan programme for socially impactful start-ups, and ₹2.5 crore from the Atal Innovation Mission for community innovation in underserved regions. Source: UPES start-ups and innovation.

  See also: Government support schemes.

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Reaching the wider community

• Startup Weekend Dehradun. Runway is the licensed partner for Techstars Startup Weekend in Dehradun, a three-day event where participants form teams, build a business idea and pitch it. Source: Runway to success: Uttarakhand incubator (YourStory).
• Future Founders Challenge. A national entrepreneurship competition for students in Classes 9 to 12 across India, in teams of two or three, with no prior start-up experience needed. Source: Future Founders Challenge 2026, Future Founders Challenge 2025 (The Tribune).

  See also: Become a Community Problem Solver at GIC Paundha.

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• Become a Community Problem Solver at GIC Paundha. On 11 August 2026, Runway and the Social Outreach Department ran an entrepreneurship programme for 155 students in Classes 9 to 12 at Government Inter College, Paundha, Dehradun. Source: Event report: Become a Community Problem Solver at GIC Paundha.

  

• Bajaj Engineering Skills Training (BEST) Centre. A CSR initiative of Bajaj Auto with UPES that trains graduate and diploma engineers in mechatronics, robotics and automation, and Industry 4.0, with scholarships for students from economically weaker sections. Source: UPES BEST Centre, UPES R&D Newsletter, January–June 2025.

  

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• Women's livelihoods in the hills. The Himalayan Institute for Learning and Leadership (HILL) trains women in marketing locally grown products and builds skills for self-employment across the region. Source: Himalayan Institute for Learning and Leadership, HILL projects (UPES blog).

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Businesses that grew from UPES

• UGreen Technology. Founded by alumnus Gaurav Dwivedi, UGreen develops carbon capture technology; its OCOFix product completed a pilot with Oil India, described as the first carbon capture pilot in India's upstream oil and gas sector. Source: UGreen carbon capture pilot (SustainabilityNext).
• Envinova Smartech. A start-up working on sustainable solar solutions, funded at The Pitch in July 2025. Source: UPES awards ₹3 crore in start-up funding (Greater Kashmir), UPES fuels start-up dreams at The Pitch (GUS news).

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• Homversity. A Runway graduate that helps students find housing, reported in 2022 to be valued at more than ₹80 crore. Source: Runway to success: Uttarakhand incubator (YourStory).