Pune: Emphasizing that India needs to reduce its dependence on importing technologies, Maharashtra Governor Jishnu Dev Varma on Wednesday said bridging the gap between academia, industry, startups and government agencies is essential to translate research into commercially deployable solutions, which in turn will strengthen the country's innovation ecosystem.
Governor's Address at Workshop Inauguration
Varma was speaking at the inauguration of the three-day workshop on Mid-TRL technology transition and innovation acceleration jointly organized by COEP Technological University and CANEUS International, in partnership with the Government of Maharashtra in Pune.
"This initiative directly responds to our goal of Make in India in critical sectors such as aerospace, defence, semiconductors and advanced materials. India still depends heavily on imports. Every technology that successfully transitions from TRL 4 to TRL 9 is a step forward in reducing that dependence. It strengthens our innovation pipeline and enhances national competitiveness," said Dev Varma.
Bridging the Gap Between Innovation and Implementation
The governor said while universities across the country were producing quality research, a significant gap remained between innovation and implementation, and that is where CANEUS International comes in. "Stronger collaboration between universities, industry, startups, investors and government institutions is essential. India has over 1.3 lakh registered startups and thousands of active research programmes in our universities and national laboratories. Yet only a fraction of these innovations successfully reach the market. By bringing together academia, industry, startups, investors and government agencies on a single platform, this workshop will help convert ideas into deployable and scalable solutions," said Dev Varma.
Maharashtra's Economic Strengths and Human Capital
Highlighting the state's economic strengths, the governor said Maharashtra contributes nearly 15% of India's GDP and is home to more than 40,000 MSMEs. However, he said the state's real competitive advantage lies in its human capital. "Events like this convert human capital into economic value. They will attract investments, foster startups and create high-quality employment, thereby reinforcing Maharashtra's position as India's leading industrial and innovation state," said Dev Varma.
Distinguished Presence at the Event
Renowned scientist Raghunath Mashelkar, Chairman of CANEUS International Milind Pimprikar, and Sunil Bhirud from COEP Tech University were also present at the inauguration.
A First-of-its-Kind Structured Mid-TRL Effort
Calling it a first-of-its-kind structured Mid-TRL technology transition effort in India, Pimprikar said that Maharashtra is now positioning itself to lead it. The Maharashtra government has partnered with CANEUS International to create a Mid-TRL innovation acceleration and skilling institute in the Mumbai region, focusing on aerospace, defence, energy and deep technologies.
"This is not an expo, not a conventional conference, and not a routine startup mentoring event. During the three days, the focus will not be on speeches alone, but on a working process: identifying industry and mission needs, mapping technology bottlenecks, forming project concepts, and building pathways for funding, validation, certification, scale-up, and deployment," said Pimprikar.
