Nagaland: YouthNet awards Rs. 20 L grants to four start-ups

YouthNet Incubation Centre (YIC) has awarded a cumulative grant of Rs. 20 lakh to four early-stage startups under the Gen-Next Support for Innovative Startups (GENESIS 2.0) scheme, a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
The scheme is designed to channel targeted funding into startups from Tier II and Tier III cities, empowering them to build innovative solutions that directly address regional and local challenges. The selected startups includes URA Agritech Private Limited, Khamlou India Private Limited, BLEND and AGRI+.
Speaking at the event, YouthNet director Nuneseno Chase congratulated the selected startups, noting their growing role in strengthening the regional innovation landscape. She emphasized that the grants recognize both the ingenuity of their solutions and their potential for lasting impact.
YouthNet, associate director Neikepekho Shosahie described GENESIS as a shift toward outcome-driven innovation, highlighting milestone-linked funding allows startups to build with discipline proving technology, market relevance, and impact at each stage of their journey.
He noted the scheme’s focus on frontier technologies such electronics and information technology to artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and blockchain, while remaining grounded in real-world challenges across healthcare, education, agriculture, and sustainability. The scheme, he said, demonstrate how targeted capital and structured support can unlock entrepreneurial momentum in regions often overlooked by mainstream innovation pipelines.