AIC Nitte Incubation Centre honors three Grassroots Innovators recognized at Rashtrapati Bhavan

AIC Nitte Incubation Centre honors three Grassroots Innovators recognized at Rashtrapati Bhavan

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Aug. 14, 2026: Nitte (Deemed to be University) and AIC Nitte Incubation Centre jointly organised a felicitation ceremony at The Ocean Pearl in Mangaluru to honour three innovators incubated at AIC Nitte Incubation Centre who were recognised under the Grassroots Innovator Recognition 2026 programme of the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog.

The innovators — Anusha Acharya, Founder and CEO of MaVedas Foods and Cereals Pvt. Ltd., Ratnakar Naik, Founder and CEO of WWR Innovations Pvt. Ltd., and Akshay Mashelkar, Founder and CEO of Experimind Labs Pvt. Ltd. — were among 26 grassroots innovators selected from across the country for the national recognition.

The three innovators had earlier presented their innovations and interacted with President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on July 31, where they were felicitated in her presence.

The three innovators had earlier presented their innovations and interacted with President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on July 31, where they were felicitated in her presence.

Welcoming the gathering, Puneeth Rai, CEO of AIC Nitte Incubation Centre, expressed pride in the achievement and said the recognition reflected the centre’s commitment to nurturing entrepreneurs, fostering innovation and supporting startups in scaling their ventures.

The programme began with the ceremonial lighting of the lamp by Vishal Hegde, Chancellor of Nitte University; Neel Kumar, Innovation Lead, Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog; Prof. Dr. B. Satheesh Kumar Bhandary, Vice President (ISR & CRL), Nitte University; Dr. M.S. Moodithaya, Vice-Chancellor, Nitte University; Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, CEO, Karnataka Digital Economy Mission; and Puneeth Rai.

Speaking on the occasion, Neel Kumar highlighted AIM’s efforts in strengthening India’s innovation ecosystem through more than 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs and over 50 incubation centres across the country. Sanjeev Kumar Gupta lauded the national recognition received by the three startups and noted the growing strength of the startup ecosystem in Coastal Karnataka.

The innovators were felicitated by Dakshina Kannada MP Capt. Brijesh Chowta in the presence of Vishal Hegde, Dr. Moodithaya, Neel Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar Gupta and Puneeth Rai.

Sharing their entrepreneurial journeys, Anusha Acharya spoke about drawing inspiration from her grandmother’s traditional recipes and preserving the culinary heritage of Tulu Nadu. Ratnakar Naik discussed developing affordable solutions for farmers and households based on challenges related to water management, while Akshay Mashelkar reflected on how childhood curiosity led him to combine academics with entrepreneurship.

Addressing the gathering, Capt. Brijesh Chowta emphasised the importance of family support in entrepreneurial success and encouraged more young innovators from the region to pursue entrepreneurship. Vedavyas Kamath, MLA for Mangaluru South, assured support to innovators in connecting with institutions and industry partners and in expanding their ventures.

In his concluding remarks, Vishal Hegde noted that AIC Nitte Incubation Centre, established in 2020, has incubated more than 130 startups. He urged innovators to become job creators and contribute to the economic development of their native region.