The Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh, Shri Banwarilal Purohit, inaugurated a Deeptech Startup Accelerator Program dedicated to catalyzing innovation in agriculture and water technology called SAMRIDHI (Strategic Acceleration for Market, Research, Innovation & Development: a Holistic Initiative for ICPS Startups) hosted by iHub AwaDH, a Technology and Innovation Hubs set up UNDER National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS).

• The  SAMRIDHI conclave in which five strategic collaborations were formalized, featured five deep-tech innovations.
• A total of 13 startups shortlisted through rigorous evaluation, presented their ideas while 25 startups showcased their solutions at the exhibition.
• More than 30 experts spoke on strategic acceleration for market research, innovation, and development.
• The conclave organised by IIT Ropar’s Technology and Innovation Hub AwaDH was supported by 46 investment partners, and over 50 jury members evaluated and mentored the startups. Over 110 partners nationwide actively contributed to driving innovation and fostering technological self-reliance.
• The program is executed with the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM – ICPS), reinforcing DST's commitment to advancing technology and innovation.