ESTIC 2026: 150 deep-tech start-ups at Bharat Mandapam as PM opens conclave

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave 2026 (ESTIC 2026) at 5:30 pm on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The three-day conclave, which runs until October 29, is organised by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the guidance of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser. About 150 deep-tech start-ups will show their work at dedicated stalls, alongside scientists, industry, policymakers and three Nobel laureates.

Deep-tech start-ups build products from new science or engineering, such as new materials, chips, biotechnology or advanced AI, rather than from apps or business models alone. They usually need more time and money to reach the market than consumer start-ups, and their first customers are often large companies or government bodies. That is why a conclave that puts founders in the same hall as scientists, public sector units and policymakers matters to them.

The format of ESTIC is built for that. Business-to-business meetings let a start-up meet companies that might buy, test or invest in its technology. Business-to-government meetings let it meet ministries and public bodies that buy technology or run pilot projects. For a young company from a smaller city, which may not have easy access to these people, three days in one venue can save months of trying to get appointments.

The list of themes also signals where the government's science agencies see priority. Semiconductors, quantum communication, synthetic biology, ocean technology and space science are areas where India is trying to build its own capability. Start-ups working in these fields can read the programme as a map of where research partnerships, grants and procurement are likely to focus.

The presence of CSIR matters for another reason. CSIR runs a network of national laboratories, and its role as organiser puts researchers from those laboratories in the same venue as start-ups and industry, which can help research from public institutions find a path to products.

For founders and students who are not attending, the sessions and announcements over the three days are worth following. Any new scheme, fund or partnership announced at the conclave will be relevant to start-ups across the country, not only to those with stalls.

Short-term: About 150 start-ups get three days of direct exposure to investors, industry, public sector buyers and researchers. Visitors and the media will see working demonstrations of Indian deep-tech products.

Long-term: Partnerships, pilot projects and technology licences that begin at the conclave could help more deep-tech start-ups move from prototype to product. The themes chosen may shape research funding and procurement priorities in the coming years.

Who is affected: Deep-tech founders and their teams, researchers in CSIR and other national laboratories, students and young scientists, industry and public sector units looking for new technology, and investors in science-based start-ups.

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