Jalna
District collector Ashima Mittal on Thursday reviewed the progress of the first phase of the ‘MAGIC-Jalna ITI Incubation Centre’ coming up at Government ITI, Jalna. The project, being developed under District Planning and Development Committee (DPDC) funds, is a public-private partnership between the Jalna district administration and the Marathwada Accelerator for Growth and Incubation Council (MAGIC).
The review meeting was attended by Magic directors Sunil Raithatta, Ritesh Mishra, Nitin Kabra, Yashraj Pitty, and Anuj Bansal, along with officials Ganesh Chimankar and Atmaram Dalvi.
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First of its kind in India
This is the first incubation centre in the country to be set up within a government ITI campus in a tier-3 city. In line with the Maharashtra Startup Policy, the centre will nurture ITI students, faculty, local industries, and rural entrepreneurs. It will provide facilities for research, prototyping, and testing to help create solutions for local challenges. The incubation centre is coming up in Workshop No. 2 of the ITI campus, spread over 10,300 sq. ft. (8,075 sq. ft. on the ground floor and 2,225 sq. ft. on the first floor). Once operational, it will directly benefit students and faculty from eight government and four private ITIs in Jalna district, besides startups and local industries.
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Towards innovation
The decision to establish the centre was taken two years ago in a state cabinet meeting at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. With administrative support and DPDC funding, work is now nearing completion. Calling the initiative a milestone, Magic director Ritesh Mishra said, “This centre will further accelerate the region’s journey towards innovation and entrepreneurship.” Officials said the project is expected to inspire youth from tier-2 and tier-3 cities across Marathwada, opening a new chapter in technology-driven entrepreneurship.