Punjab State Council for Science & Technology

Government of Punjab Launches SHE Cohort 3.0

January 16 , 2025 : ( AVAJ APKI NEWS )

The Government of Punjab organized Launch of SHE (Startups Handholding & Empowerment)
Cohort 3.0 at Knowledge City, Mohali. The Event was inaugurated by Sh. Priyank Bharti, IAS,
Secretary, Science, Technology and Environment Punjab amidst Dignitaries and National
Experts. Secretary STE, while inaugurating the event emphasized that State Government is
committed to foster a vibrant and inclusive ecosystem for the State of Punjab. SHE is a flagship
initiative to nurture tech-led women start-ups and is spearheaded by Punjab State Council for
Science & Technology. He urged female students to apply for SHE 3.0 Cohort programme which
is supported by incubators and ecosystem partners. He further informed that 25 early stage
women start-ups have been supported for scaling-up their tech based ventures and now
Government is expanding the initiative to cater to female students from Tier II/III cities and small
towns.
Dr. Anita Aggarwal, Head SSTP, DST, Government of India shared about DST’s initiatives
especially towards creating and strengthening innovation and entrepreneurship culture in the
Country. She emphasized on significance of technology based innovations having immense
commercial potential. Dr. Ashwani Pareek, ED BRIC-NABI informed that GoI has recently
set-up BioNEST Incubation Centre equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure. He further
extended his support to biotechnology, agri-tech, and bio-manufacturing start-ups of the State.
Er. Pritpal Singh ED-PSCST informed that PSCST is spearheading Mission Innovate Punjab to
create robust research and innovation infrastructure to enhance competitiveness, boost growth
and create jobs. He informed about various initiatives being taken by PSCST to strengthen
innovation and start-up ecosystem of the State. He also shared that PSCST is mapping research &
innovation landscape of industry and collating their technological challenges, the start-ups and
students are being urged to provide innovative solutions to the curated problems.
Dr. Dapinder Kaur Bakshi, Joint Director & SHE Programme Investigator shared the vision
behind SHE Initiative and informed that PSCST would be supporting potential female start-ups
for seed funding, incubation, business mentorship and IP protection. A Panel session on
Nurturing Tech-Led Start-ups- Exploring Opportunities was organized which involved experts
from leading Incubators, Institutions and Investment agencies. Further, the event showcased
exhibitions by promising SHE start-ups and GRIP Innovators. About 300 students, start-ups,
innovators, researchers participated in the event.