Hon’ble Minister Shri Arjun Modhwadia Visits i-Hub Gujarat, Engages with Emerging Tech Startups
On 10th June 2026, i-Hub Gujarat had the honour of hosting 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢 𝐀𝐫𝐣𝐮𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐡𝐰𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐚, 𝐇𝐨𝐧'𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐭 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 & 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 & 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞, 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐮𝐣𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭. During his visit, he chaired a roundtable discussion with 35 AI & Deep-Tech startups from across Gujarat. The discussion was attended by 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢 𝐌𝐮𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐊𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐫, 𝐈𝐀𝐒, 𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲, 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐮𝐣𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭, along with officials from i-Hub Gujarat.
The discussion commenced with a welcome address by 𝐌𝐫. Chiranjiv Patel (𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝐢-𝐇𝐮𝐛 𝐆𝐮𝐣𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭), followed by an interaction between the Hon’ble Cabinet Minister and 35 AI & Deep-Tech startups supported by i-Hub Gujarat. Founders showcased their innovations, discussed key challenges, and shared suggestions to strengthen Gujarat’s AI and Deep-Tech ecosystem.
The discussions focused on enabling startup-led pilot projects, facilitating technology adoption in public systems, expanding testing and validation opportunities, and strengthening collaboration between innovators, industry, academia, and government.
Addressing the gathering, 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢 𝐌𝐮𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐊𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐫, 𝐈𝐀𝐒, reflected on Gujarat's startup journey and the policy initiatives that have contributed to its growth over the years. He spoke about i-Hub Gujarat's distinctive hub-and-spoke model that combines grant assistance, incubation infrastructure, mentorship, acceleration programs, investor outreach, industry engagement and market access initiatives.
Further, the 𝐇𝐨𝐧’𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐭 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 addressed the gathering and appreciated the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit demonstrated by Gujarat’s young innovators. He shared that the Government is working towards creating dedicated pathways for startups to develop, validate, and deploy emerging technologies through Centres of Excellence, enabling AI and Deep-Tech startups to build Proofs of Concept (PoCs), undertake pilot deployments, and demonstrate real-world impact by solving challenges scouted by various government departments.
He also shared that the Government is actively exploring the development of advanced digital infrastructure, including cloud computing resources, GPU-enabled computing facilities, and other AI-focused technology infrastructure to support startups working on AI solutions.
The event concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by 𝐌𝐫. 𝐇𝐢𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚 (𝐂𝐄𝐎, 𝐢-𝐇𝐮𝐛 𝐆𝐮𝐣𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭) who expressed gratitude to the dignitaries, speakers, founders and stakeholders for their contribution towards the conduct of the visit.
