NIPER: Technology incubator lying defunct for long

The project was sanctioned under 12th Five Year Plan to help in commercialisation of research and enable innovative technologies of NIPER to make them a reality and send them to the industry.

Under this project, students and faculty could set up spin-off companies around their doctoral work or promising research leads to develop these further to product stage.

A grant of Rs 13 crore was also sanctioned. NIPER was to provide seed money and space to such companies within the campus.

But despite receipt of hefty sums of money, no incubator facility has been operationalised and NOTA, a single spin-off company, has been registered in

the temporary incubator, which has been created by getting existing building of engineering and maintenance section vacated.

Sources said that the institute had invited expressions of interest and got a good response but nothing had been done so far. The institute also gave an advertisement in December 2015 and invited applications from the people eligible for working in the incubator. The students who completed their Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees from the institute also applied for setting up their own ventures.

One of the applicants, on condition of anonymity, said that he applied for setting up his own business but he did not get any reply from the institute in the last eight months.

“The building remained closed for all the time. It is locked and nobody came here. It seems that it was just an eyewash to take the government grant. Many PhD students leave the institute after completing their courses,” added the  student.

Acting director of NIPER K K Bhutani was not available for comment on the issue; his official landline number too was not approachable.