The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, in partnership with Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), convened the GCC Conclave on Innovation 2026 in Bengaluru, bringing together Global Capability Centre (GCC) leaders, R&D heads, innovation leaders, startup ecosystem enablers, incubators, and policymakers to explore pathways for deeper collaboration in India's innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

The conclave witnessed participation from leadership representatives of leading GCCs and technology organizations including Intel, IBM, Bosch, Amazon, SAP, Thermo Fisher Scientific, CGI, Shell, Mercedes-Benz, Philips, Morgan Stanley, NVIDIA, Samsung, SanDisk, Wipro, Yahoo and several other multinational enterprises, alongside representatives from Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs), AIM-supported incubators - Atal Incubation Centres (AICs) and Atal Community Innovation Centres (ACICs), STPI Centres of Entrepreneurship, Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) and ecosystem stakeholders.

The event was organized with the objective of creating stronger linkages between India's innovation ecosystem and GCCs, while exploring opportunities for collaboration across AIM's innovation lifecycle - from school innovation through Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs), startup incubation through AICs and ACICs, and startup scale-up through the upcoming Industrial Accelerator initiative, AACESS (Atal Acceleration Centres for Scale-up of Startups).

Shri Arvind Kumar, Director General, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), underscored STPI's pivotal role in powering India's technology and innovation ecosystem and the GCC conclave creates an important platform to take innovation from the grassroot level to global market.

"India's GCC ecosystem - with over 2,100 centres generating nearly USD 100 billion in revenue - stands as a testament to what is possible when global ambition meets Indian talent. STPI has been a foundational enabler of this journey since 1991, building the technology infrastructure, policy framework, and ecosystem connectivity that made India the world's foremost destination for global capability development. Today, we take this partnership to its next logical frontier: aligning STPI's nationwide network of Technology Parks, Centres of Entrepreneurship, and digital infrastructure directly with AIM's deep innovation pipeline across schools, incubators, and acceleration programmes. Through this convergence, GCCs will have a structured, government-backed platform to co-innovate with Indian startups, validate frontier technologies, and play an active role in shaping India's innovation economy. I invite every GCC present here to step forward as partners in this mission - together, we can build globally competitive enterprises and accelerate India's march towards Viksit Bharat 2047."

Addressing the gathering, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) NITI Aayog, Deepak Bagla, emphasized the critical role of GCCs in shaping India's innovation-led growth story.

"As Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has often emphasized, 'Jai Anusandhan' must become the driving force of a developed India. Over the last decade, Atal Innovation Mission has worked towards this vision by building India's innovation pipeline - from young innovators in 10,000+ established Atal Tinkering Labs to startups and grassroot innovators supported through 100+ incubators. Today, GCCs have established India as a global hub for technology, engineering, and product innovation. By bringing these strengths together, we can nurture talent, accelerate entrepreneurship, enable industry adoption, and build globally competitive enterprises that contribute to the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.”

He further emphasised that AIM's vision is to build a seamless innovation continuum - from nurturing curiosity in school students to enabling globally competitive enterprises and invited GCCs to actively engage with AIM's initiatives through mentorship, innovation challenges, pilots, market access, and startup-industry partnerships.

Speaking at the conclave, Dr. Sanjay Tyagi, Director, STPI Bengaluru, underscored the importance of convergence between India's startup ecosystem, incubation infrastructure, and GCC ecosystem.

"Bengaluru is home to India's most vibrant concentration of Global Capability Centres, and STPI Bengaluru has been at the heart of this ecosystem for over three decades - providing the technology infrastructure, compliance support, and policy enablement that has enabled GCCs to scale and deepen their innovation footprint in India. Through this conclave, we are creating structured and actionable pathways for GCCs to engage meaningfully with AIM's innovation pipeline: mentoring young innovators in Atal Tinkering Labs, co-creating with startups in Atal Incubation Centres, and partnering in the upcoming AACESS Industrial Accelerator Programme. India's GCC ecosystem has evolved from a centre of cost efficiency to a globally recognised powerhouse of technology development, product engineering, and innovation. By bringing together the complementary strengths of STPI and AIM with the global capabilities of GCCs, we can unlock new pathways for technology commercialisation, startup scale-up, and industry-led entrepreneurship. STPI Bengaluru is fully committed to facilitating this ecosystem convergence, and I am confident that the partnerships forged here today will help position India as the undisputed global capital of innovation."

The conclave featured focused discussions around four key themes:

• Reimagining School Innovation through Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs)
• Catalyzing Innovation to Enterprise through AICs and ACICs
• Driving Innovation at Scale through AIM's Industrial Accelerator Initiative (AACESS)
• Industry-Led Innovation through Joint Accelerator Platforms and STPI Centres of Entrepreneurship

Participants discussed opportunities for GCCs to engage with AIM-supported innovators, startups and incubators through mentorship, technology validation, pilot deployments, challenge-led innovation programs, market access pathways, and co-creation of sector-focused accelerator programs.

A key focus area of the discussions was AIM's upcoming AACESS Industrial Accelerator Program, which aims to strengthen startup-industry collaboration by enabling growth-stage startups to access industrial validation environments, pilot opportunities, industry mentorship, and commercialization pathways. AIM invited participating industries and GCCs to actively collaborate in shaping the program by sharing their ideas, engagement models, sectoral priorities, and pathways through which they can contribute to startup scale-up, technology adoption, and innovation-led growth.

The conclave also explored potential areas of collaboration between AIM and STPI to leverage their complementary strengths in nurturing innovators, startups, entrepreneurs, and technology enterprises across the country. The event concluded with a commitment from stakeholders to continue engagement through structured consultations and collaborative initiatives aimed at accelerating innovation adoption, fostering entrepreneurship, and strengthening India's position as a global innovation and technology hub.

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MJPS/SS/PRK