Kanpur, July 24 : Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, the technology business incubator at IIT Kanpur, is launching the NIRMAN Accelerator Programme, supported by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. According to a release, the programme will focus on manufacturing startups engaged in healthcare and agriculture domains and help them overcome the challenges from their prototype to market journey. A total of 15 start-ups will be selected under the programme, where they will be granted the opportunity to accelerate their product journey from lab to market. The best performing start-ups among the cohort of 15 start-ups will receive a cash award of up to Rs 10 lakhs. Prof Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, professor-in-charge, innovation and incubation, IIT Kanpur, said, "Our country has been facing tremendous challenges in the domain of manufacturing. We are in urgent need of innovators and start-ups working in the healthcare and agriculture domain to cater to some of the pertinent developmental challenges to uplift the status of manufacturing in India." Dr Nikhil Agarwal, CEO FIRST IIT-Kanpur & AIIDE said, "SIIC comes with a vast experience of working with promising innovators and start-ups that can leverage optimum social impact. This collaboration with the department of science and technology aims to revive the manufacturing domain in the country" The six-month-long programme will be devised into four segments, namely Principles of Product Growth, Engineering Acceleration, Navigating the Compliance Puzzle, and Leading to next-stage growth. The programme will offer knowledge workshops, one-on-one mentoring support, diving deep for customized support for clinical validation, and business and investor connect. Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT-Kanpur, was established in 2000 when entrepreneurship was still a developing currency, making it one of the oldest incubators in the country. /IANS