Amaravati, June 11, 2025 — Cyient Foundation, the CSR arm of Cyient Ltd., has joined hands with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a pioneering innovation cluster in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The MoU was formalized in the presence of Shri Nara Lokesh, Minister for HRD, IT, Electronics & Communication.
The collaboration aims to transform the regional innovation landscape by equipping higher education institutions with the resources and frameworks necessary to foster entrepreneurship, innovation, and intellectual property development. The pilot initiative will support the formation of innovation-centric structures such as iCARE (Innovation Creation and Research for Entrepreneurship) centres, iCAFE (Idea Creation and Auxiliary Facilities for Entrepreneurship) spaces, and IPR-TT (Intellectual Property Rights and Technology Transfer) cells.
Dr. BVR Mohan Reddy, Founder Chairman of Cyient and Chief Patron of Cyient Foundation, stated, “The partnership with AICTE is a significant step towards realizing India’s potential as a global innovation powerhouse. By nurturing entrepreneurial mindsets and building institutional capacities, we are creating a self-sustaining model that empowers youth, encourages IP creation, and promotes meaningful collaboration between academia and industry.”
Complementing this vision, Dr. Abhay Jere, Vice Chairman of AICTE, said, “This partnership with Cyient Foundation exemplifies the kind of industry-academia collaboration that can transform the way educational institutions contribute to India’s innovation economy. The city innovation cluster in Visakhapatnam will serve as a model for future clusters across the nation.”
This three-year roadmap, supported by Cyient’s CSR grant and infrastructure, will include bootcamps, mentoring sessions, innovation fairs, and hackathons. It is aligned with national programs like Smart India Hackathon and the establishment of over 15,700 Innovation Councils (IICs) across India. Andhra Pradesh alone houses over 1,137 IICs, laying a strong foundation for regional innovation clusters.
