According to Dr. Rajkumar Upadhyay, CEO of C-DOT, the nation’s digital transformation is being propelled by the zeal, inventiveness, and tenacity of our businesses.
In March 2025, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT)’s independent telecom research and development center, the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), introduced the “Samarth” Program, a state-of-the-art incubation program for entrepreneurs in the ICT and telecom industries.
“We reaffirm our commitment to nurturing the next generation of telecom and ICT leaders as we celebrate the success of Samarth Cohort-I and launch Cohort-II,” Upadhyay stated.
He also emphasized the long-term goals of C-DOT. “Our vision is more expansive. In order to guarantee that the spirit of innovation is ingrained in the core of our educational system, we are actively working to build Academic Centers of Excellence in prestigious institutions,” he continued.
In line with the Prime Minister’s “Atmanirbhar Bharat” vision, Samarth exemplifies C-DOT’s dedication to fostering a culture of synergistic innovation for the co-creation and development of domestic telecom goods and solutions with start-ups and industry.
Startups and innovators engaged in telecom applications, cybersecurity, 5G/6G technologies, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and quantum technologies can benefit from the comprehensive support provided by the “Samarth” incubation program.
TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) and Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) have been chosen as the program’s implementation partners.
The program is divided into two six-month cohorts, each of which can support up to 18 firms, for a total of 36 startups supported by the project.
18 firms were chosen to be a part of Cohort I and earned the first funding tranche in the program’s initial phase.
The chosen entrepreneurs diligently worked on the five creative issue statements that C-DOT supplied.
Based on their performance on the demo day in September 2025, the top five startups received funding for the next round of grants, while all 18 startups demonstrated outstanding results.
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