Varanasi (UP), Aug 9 (IANS): The Banaras Hindu University is all set to play a key role in promoting and invigorating entrepreneurship and start-ups, especially in the areas related to life sciences, biotechnology, health care, agritech, food technology and allied fields.

BHU is planning to set up BioNEST (Bioincubator for Nurturing Entrepreneurship for Scaling Technologies) facility, which will provide support to start-ups in these areas.

Prof Anil K. Tripathi, director of the Institute of Science, BHU, said that for this purpose, the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a public sector enterprise of Department of Biotechnology, has sanctioned Rs 6 crore to InnoResTech Foundation in BHU for starting a BioNEST facility.

BIRAC has already released Rs 3 crore as the first grant to start the programme, which will be operated in the building of Central Discovery Centre (CDC), BHU.

According to Tripathi, the InnoResTech Foundation, BHU, is a non-profit company created under the aegis of Institute of Science, BHU, to promote science-based innovations in technologies to empower academia, entrepreneurs and industry.

Under the programme, BioNEST-BHU will create space and facilitates for 15 incubatees and provide them the opportunity and environment to pursue their ideas with commercial potential towards successful outcomes.

He said that the BHU-BioNEST will groom young incubatees and faculty members. It will organise awareness programmes and connect start-ups with the inventors/developers of the technologies ready for transfer with the industry as well as hospitals to provide initial mentorship to the start-ups. It will also create a single window advisory for entrepreneurs and start-ups about equipment facility, technology and expert portfolio of BHU, and government schemes.