(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANS) The passion, creativity and determination of our startups are the driving forces behind the nation's digital transformation, according to Dr. Rajkumar Upadhyay, CEO, C-DOT.

The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), an autonomous telecom R&D institution under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), had launched 'Samarth' Programme - a cutting-edge incubation programme for startups in Telecom and ICT sector in March 2025.

“As we celebrate the success of Samarth Cohort-I and launch Cohort-II, we reaffirm our commitment to nurturing the next generation of leaders in telecom and ICT,” Upadhyay said,

He further emphasised C-DOT's long-term vision.“Our vision extends further. We are actively working to establish Academic Centres of Excellence in leading institutions, ensuring that the spirit of innovation is embedded at the very roots of our educational system,” he added.

Samarth reflects the commitment of C-DOT in promotion of a culture of synergetic innovation for the co-creation and development of indigenous telecom products/solutions with start-ups and industry aligning with the Prime Minister's vision of“Atmanirbhar Bharat”.

“Samarth” incubation programme offers holistic support to startups and innovators working in telecom applications, cybersecurity, 5G/6G technologies, artificial intelligence, IoT, and quantum technologies.

Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) and TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) have been selected as the implementation partner of the programme.

The programme is structured in two cohorts for a duration of six months each, accommodating up to 18 startups per cohort thus supporting a maximum of 36 startups under the initiative.

In first phase of the programme, 18 startups were selected to be part of Cohort- I and received first tranche of grant.

The selected startups worked relentlessly on the five innovative problem statements provided by C-DOT.

All 18 startups showed remarkable outcomes and top five startups were provided next round of grant based on the performance during the demo day held in September 2025.

-IANS

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