Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Dec 11 (IANS): In a generous gesture, IIT-Kanpur alumni Ajay Dubey and his wife Rooma Dubey have contributed USD 2,50,000 (Rs 2 crore) for seeding health technology innovations.

An MoU has been signed between IIT-K director Prof Abhay Karandikar and Dubey.

Dubey and his wife generously contributed towards instituting the 'Rooma & Ajay Dubey Healthcare Innovation & Ideation Programme' (HII programme) with an aim to fund and nurture innovations in health technology and build an ecosystem to nurture startups founded by students in the health-tech domain.

The programme will expose students to various problems and motivate them to come up with technology solutions and develop ideas for the betterment of the healthcare system.

Under the umbrella of Startup Incubation & Innovation Centre (SIIC), IIT Kanpur, students will get funding and networking opportunities to fast-track their growth and build a culture of entrepreneurship.

Prof Karandikar said: "Health-tech innovations under the R&D ecosystem of IIT Kanpur have grown manifold in the last few years. We also have a growing number of incubated startups working in healthcare. On behalf of the institute, I gratefully acknowledge Ajay Dubey and Rooma Dubey's contribution towards supporting more robust technological advancements in healthcare to make India self-reliant. This generous endeavour would surely encourage more young people to develop affordable technologies for India's health-tech sector. "

Dubey said, "The aim of instituting the HII programme is to find solutions that have been designed, developed and manufactured in India. Affordable healthcare is already a huge challenge. The only way forward is for India to create its own solutions, designing, developing and innovating here, to come out with equipment, processes that work in India, and at a scale that we need it."