Bengaluru, 25 September: IIM Bangalore has entered into two significant collaborations with the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India, and the National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation (NMDFC), which will leverage the Institute’s strengths in public policy, entrepreneurship and innovation to support public initiatives aimed at creating inclusive and sustainable economic opportunities.
In the presence of Dr. Srivatsa Krishna, Secretary, MoMA, the MoUs were signed and exchanged by Mr. S P Roy, Joint Secretary, MoMA; Mr. Nixon Mathur, General Manager, NMDFC; Prof. U Dinesh Kumar, Director-in-charge, IIMB; and Ms. Rasika Prashant, CEO, IIMB Innovations (NSRCEL), at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, on 25th September 2026. The partnerships mark an expansion of IIMB’s engagement with public institutions on initiatives that require rigorous evidence, institutional capacity and outcome-oriented implementation.
On the occasion, Prof. U Dinesh Kumar, Director-in-charge, IIMB, said, “IIMB values the responsibility entrusted to it through such efforts, particularly where its expertise can help strengthen public programmes and their outcomes. Through our Centres of Excellence, both of which have over 25 years of experience in creating impact on the ground, we are keen to bring our understanding, knowledge and capabilities to initiatives that can expand opportunities for minority communities as well as enable pathways for enterprise”.
Through its Centre for Public Policy (CPP), IIMB will undertake independent third-party field-level inspection and concurrent monitoring of training centres under the Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) Scheme across the South Zone. The initial engagement covers 43 training centres across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
The monitoring will assess key aspects of programme implementation, including training delivery, infrastructure, participation of beneficiaries and trainers, attendance, certification and placement outcomes. Field verification and consultations with relevant stakeholders will generate evidence to help identify implementation gaps, strengthen monitoring mechanisms and improve programme outcomes under PM VIKAS.
The second collaboration, between IIMB Innovations, through its entrepreneurship and incubation centre NSRCEL, and the NMDFC, will focus on strengthening the entrepreneurship and startup ecosystem for minority communities. The partnership will support areas including entrepreneurship skilling and capacity building, innovation promotion, incubation and startup support, research and evidence-based policy, and technology-enabled approaches to enterprise development.
Ms. Rasika Prashant, CEO, IIMB Innovations (NSRCEL), said: “Inclusive innovation is vital for India’s startup ecosystem. By combining our incubation support with the vision of MoMA and NMDFC, we will be empowering minority founders with expert mentoring, market access, and enterprise support to help them achieve scale, market-readiness and attract investment”.
A key area of collaboration will be the Prime Minister Minority Venture Fund (PM-MVF), with potential initiatives spanning entrepreneurship awareness, startup identification, incubation and mentoring, investor and industry linkages, market access and enterprise development. The collaboration is also envisaged to create avenues for knowledge exchange and institutional support across emerging sectors.
The collaborations are part of a wider set of MoUs signed by the Ministry of Minority Affairs with academic, research and innovation institutions in Bengaluru, including the Centre for Urbanization, Buildings & Environment (CUBE), IIT Madras, and the Foundation for Science Innovation and Development (FSID), IISc Bengaluru. Together, the partnerships seek to bring academic expertise, research capabilities, technical knowledge and established innovation ecosystems to the implementation of the Ministry’s initiatives.
