Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar inaugurated a Mega StartUp Expo under the theme 'Emerging Startup Trends in North India' on 4rth January 2024, at Kathua, the border town sharing its boundaries with Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, in the presence of Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology.

The Expo witnessed more than 200 delegates participating and 25 Biotech Startups that showcased their innovations in different areas of biotechnology. The participating startups were engaged in solving local problems leveraging local resources such as medicinal plants, aromatic and essential oil-bearing plants for developing therapeutics.

Out of the 25 biotech startups, 11 were from J&K, 3 from Chandigarh/Mohali, 6 from Noida & Gurgaon, 3 from Kanpur, 1 from Dehradun and 1 from Roorkee. With respect to the different domain areas, 12 startups were from industrial biotechnology/ secondary agriculture sector; 2 from Devices & Diagnostics; 4 from Agriculture; 2 from Environment & waste-to-value; 1 from Space; 2 from artificial intelligence; 1 from veterinary; and 1 from food/nutraceuticals.

The Startup expo also witnessed participation of increasing number of women entrepreneurs who showcased their products and technologies. At least 5 women led startups were present at the expo.

This one-day event also had closed-door interactions with industry, academia, scientists, entrepreneurs and local public representatives.