Ministry of Minority Affairs signs MoUs with prominent institutions

The MoUs have been signed with the Centre for Urbanisation, Buildings & Environment (CUBE), IIT Madras; Foundation for Science Innovation and Development (FSID), IISc Bengaluru; Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM- B); and IIM-B Innovations (NSRCEL)

Published - September 25, 2026 07:41 pm IST - Bengaluru

Srivatsa Krishna, Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs (second from right), and U. Dinesh Kumar, Director-in-charge, Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore, holding MoUs, along with Govindan Rangarajan, Director, Indian Institute of Science (from left); Dr. Anjana Dube, Chief Policy Officer, Centre for Public Policy, IIM-B; and S.P. Roy, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs, during the Entrepreneurship Employment Empowerment event held at IISc in Bengaluru on Friday. | Photo Credit: ALLEN EGENUSE J.

The Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India, entered into several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with prominent academic, research and innovation institutions at IISc, Bengaluru.

The MoUs have been signed with Centre for Urbanisation, Buildings & Environment (CUBE), IIT Madras; Foundation for Science Innovation and Development (FSID), IISc Bengaluru; Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B); and IIM-B Innovations (NSRCEL).

“These partnerships will enable the Ministry to access specialised technical and academic expertise, strengthen evidence-based decision-making, improve monitoring and assessment mechanisms, support innovation and entrepreneurship, and create stronger institutional pathways for capacity building and enterprise development,” said a statement from the Ministry.

An agreement was signed with IIM-B for independent third-party monitoring of training under Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) scheme across the South zone.

Under this partnership, IIM-B will conduct field-level inspections and concurrent monitoring, assessing training delivery, infrastructure, beneficiary and trainer participation, attendance, certification and placement outcomes through on-ground verification and stakeholder consultations.

The evidence-based insights generated through the partnership are expected to help the Ministry strengthen implementation quality, identify and address gaps, improve monitoring mechanisms and enhance outcomes under PM VIKAS.

Strengthening entrepreneurship

The two tripartite MoUs signed by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation (NMDFC), with FSID, promoted by IISc, and NSRCEL, the entrepreneurship and incubation centre of IIM-B, will establish a framework of cooperation to strengthen the startup and innovation ecosystem and promote economic growth of minority communities.

The collaboration with FSID focuses on startup ecosystem development, innovation promotion and technology commercialisation, along with data governance, digital transformation and public interest technology.

The MoU with NSRCEL focuses on strengthening the startup ecosystem, along with skilling and capacity building, innovation and entrepreneurship promotion, research studies, policy support and evidence-based decision-making.

The Ministry signed an MoU with CUBE, IIT Madras, for independent third-party quality (technical and social) assessment of infrastructure projects under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK) scheme. The assessment will cover selected and ongoing PMJVK projects across the sectors of education, health, skill development, women and child development. It will focus on key parameters, including infrastructure quality, functionality, accessibility, utilisation, maintenance and sustainability.

The partnership is expected to provide the Ministry with independent, evidence-based assessments and actionable recommendations, enabling better asset management, identification of implementation gaps and more informed planning for future PMJVK projects.

“The focus of the government is ‘EEE’ — to enable employment through entrepreneurship,” said Srivatsa Krishna, Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs, at the event.

Published - September 25, 2026 07:41 pm IST

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