Parul Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research Centre (PIERC) is the government-recognised incubation infrastructure within Parul University, supporting student and external founders across the early-stage venture pathway. A total of 254 startups have been incubated and supported through PIERC. More than Rs 20 crore has been provided as funding to incubated startups, while Parul University startups have generated a cumulative revenue of over Rs 40 crore across the incubation portfolio. Startup Studios operate across four cities: Vadodara, Surat, Ahmedabad, and Rajkot.
PIERC‘s complete portfolio, incubation processes, and engagement pathways are documented at pierc.org. The Startup India and DPIIT registration framework under which incubated ventures operate is available at startupindia.gov.in, with Gujarat’s Student Startup and Innovation Policy (SSIP) at ssipgujarat.in. The institutional accreditation framework supporting the incubator is available through the accreditation record, first-generation founder pathways through the first-generation record, the dedicated Women Startup Programme through the female students record, and the broader institutional context through the master hub.
PIERC infrastructure and the incubation pathway
PIERC is a lab for innovators, operating as the Idea Lab and Incubation Centre at Parul University. It has been recognised by the Government of India and the Government of Gujarat. The centre supports idea validation, prototyping, layout, framework development, customer validation, market testing through outreach, business model development, government grant application support, investor meets, and provides the broader operational infrastructure that early-stage ventures need. Following are the ways in which this incubation centre helps:
- Incubation cycle structure. Ideation and validation, prototyping with technical and design support, customer validation through structured customer development methodology, business model formalisation, registration support (DPIIT, GST, Trademark), grant applications across SSIP, Startup India Seed Fund, iHub, and broader funding pathways, followed by post-grant scaling support across operations and growth.
- Leadership team. Jay Sudani serves as Chief Executive Officer, with Hutesh Baviskar as Incubation Manager, Sonal Sudani as Incubation Manager focused on grants, and Anup Chaudhari and Prashant Khanna as Incubation Programme Managers. The team operates across the multi-stage incubation pipeline that early-stage ventures navigate.
- Funding pipelines accessed. Student Startup and Innovation Policy (SSIP) grants from the Government of Gujarat, DPIIT recognition for startup status under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade framework, Startup India Seed Fund disbursements, iHub Gujarat network engagements, and the broader state and central government grant ecosystem.
- Vadodara Startup Festival. This festival at Parul University brings innovators, investors, startup founders, and budding entrepreneurs together under one roof. It provides investors and venture capitalists with opportunities to evaluate and fund startups, while startups gain valuable feedback, networking opportunities, and potential investment support during their early stages.
Also Read: Vadodara Startup Festival at Parul University, where startups and founders meet.
Voldebug Innovations: cybersecurity recognition from the Home Minister of India
Voldebug Innovations is a cybersecurity startup founded by Meet Bisht, Monika Chand, and Rohit Ganaka through the PIERC incubation pathway. The venture delivers secure digital solutions and threat-monitoring systems, with its Security Information System (SIS) software representing the technical core of the offering. Voldebug received the Outstanding Performance Award from Shri Amit Shah, the Honourable Home Minister of India and Minister of Cooperation in the Government of India.
Recognition at the Home Minister level operates within the Government of India’s broader emphasis on indigenous cybersecurity capability development, with the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), the National Cyber Security Coordinator’s office, and the broader cybersecurity policy framework supporting Indian cybersecurity ventures. Voldebug’s SIS software positions the venture within the threat-monitoring and Security Operations Centre (SOC) market, where Indian enterprise and government cybersecurity deployments operate.
Cligent Aerospace: India's first hydrogen-electric aircraft startup
Cligent Aerospace is developing India’s first hydrogen-electric, zero-emission aircraft for regional cargo and passenger mobility, founded by Harsh Joshi and Vivek Dhut through the PIERC incubation pathway. The venture’s flagship project is a 9-seater STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) aircraft engineered for regional connectivity across underserved airfields. Hydrogen-electric propulsion sits at the frontier of aerospace decarbonisation, with global efforts including Airbus’s ZEROe program and various regional aviation ventures pursuing parallel technology pathways.
India’s Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS-UDAN), administered through the Ministry of Civil Aviation, has identified hundreds of unserved and underserved airfields as priority connectivity targets. A 9-seater STOL aircraft designed for short runways and remote airfields aligns directly with this regional connectivity infrastructure. Cligent’s position within the PIERC portfolio illustrates the engineering-focused deep-tech ventures that the incubator supports alongside conventional digital and consumer ventures.
Dori Handcrafts: sustainable macramé at the Republic Plenary
Dori Handcrafts is a sustainable lifestyle brand modernising traditional macramé into global home and fashion products, founded by Tushar Ahir through the PIERC incubation pathway. The venture’s operating model integrates more than 50 rural artisans into its production network, providing structured income opportunities for craft workers while building a contemporary product portfolio across home décor, fashion accessories, and lifestyle categories. Dori Handcrafts was showcased at the Republic Plenary Meet in New Delhi before the Hon’ble Prime Minister.
The showcase at the Republic Plenary level positions Dori within the broader national craft revival and rural livelihood ecosystem supported by policy frameworks such as the Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Yojana and the One District One Product (ODOP) programme. The venture’s approach to modernising traditional crafts connects the Indian handicraft economy with contemporary urban and international markets, while its artisan integration model strengthens rural livelihood opportunities beyond a purely product-focused business.
Yield Pro Earth: Rs 75 lakh ICICI Foundation purchase order
Yield Pro Earth is an agricultural technology venture developing affordable, electricity-free irrigation solutions that improve water efficiency for smallholder farmers, founded by Ram Mehta and Sameer Mehta through the PIERC incubation pathway. The venture secured a Rs 75 lakh purchase order from the ICICI Foundation, India’s CSR foundation focused on rural development and sustainable livelihoods. Yield Pro Earth was also recognised as the Best Performer Startup in Incubation through the PIERC portfolio.
Smallholder farmer water-efficiency interventions align with the broader Indian agricultural sustainability framework, including the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) and the National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture. Electricity-free irrigation solutions specifically address the power availability challenges faced by smallholder farmers in remote villages, where conventional electric irrigation pumps are often limited by grid access and operating costs. The ICICI Foundation purchase order represents a revenue-generating customer engagement rather than a purely grant-funded operation.
Women Startup Programme through PIERC
The Women Startup Programme operates through PIERC as a dedicated entrepreneurship pathway for female founders. A total of 37 women-founded ventures have been supported through PIERC. The Women Startup Meet 6.0 featured a three-day startup bootcamp organised exclusively for female students at the Founders Studio in the BBA Building, with more than 60 participants presenting their ideas through structured pitching sessions. The programme also connects women founders with application pathways for SSIP grants, DPIIT recognition, the Startup India Seed Fund, the iHub Gujarat network, and the broader startup funding ecosystem.
The programme operates within India’s broader startup ecosystem, where 48 percent of the 2.12 lakh DPIIT-recognised startups have at least one woman director or partner, and approximately Rs 294 crore has been allocated to women-led ventures through the Startup India Seed Fund. PIERC’s Women Startup Programme builds on this national ecosystem through case studies of ventures such as Mamaearth (Honasa Consumer), Nykaa (Falguni Nayar), and the vision of Vikshit Bharat 2047.
YEEP and the BFH Switzerland startup exchange
The Young Entrepreneur Exchange Project (YEEP) operates as a collaboration with Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH), Switzerland, bringing Swiss students to PIERC at Parul University for Indian startup ecosystem exposure. The exchange is bidirectional, with PIERC-incubated founders and PIBA MBA students engaging with the Swiss startup ecosystem through the BFH Innovation Management Programme. The combined PIBA Switzerland engagement and PIERC Switzerland engagement represent a decade-long partnership across MoUs in 2016 to 2020 and 2021 to 2026.
THE Sustainability Impact Ratings 2026 Top 20 India for SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)
Parul University holds a Top 20 position in India for SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) in the Times Higher Education Sustainability Impact Ratings 2026. The SDG 17 ranking measures institutional contributions through partnerships that support the Sustainable Development Goals, including industry-academia collaborations, international partnerships, and the broader ecosystem development to which incubators contribute. PIERC’s partnerships across DPIIT, SSIP, iHub, BFH Switzerland YEEP, the ICICI Foundation, and the wider corporate-academic interface contribute to the institutional position measured under SDG 17.
The Top 20 India position for SDG 17 complements Parul University’s other achievements in the 2026 Sustainability Impact Ratings, including 7th in India and joint 46th worldwide for SDG 4 (Quality Education) with a score of 81.1, 7th in India and joint 60th worldwide for SDG 5 (Gender Equality), which aligns with initiatives such as the Women Startup Programme, and a Top 10 position in India for SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being). Together, these rankings reflect Parul University’s performance across multiple Sustainable Development Goal dimensions, including the partnership ecosystem supported through PIERC.
Also Read: MBA at Parul University with student exchange and NEP 2020 updated curriculum
FAQs
What is PIERC at Parul University?
PIERC is the Parul Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research Centre, the government-recognised incubation infrastructure within Parul University supporting student and external founders across the early-stage venture pathway. 254 startups have been incubated and supported through PIERC. Rs 20 crore plus has been provided as funding to incubated startups. Rs 40 crore plus is the cumulative revenue generated by PU startups across the incubation portfolio. Startup Studios operate across 4 cities (Vadodara, Surat, Ahmedabad, Rajkot). The leadership team includes Jay Sudani as Chief Executive Officer, Hutesh Baviskar as Incubation Manager, Sonal Sudani as Incubation Manager focused on grants, and Anup Chaudhari and Prashant Khanna as Incubation Programme Managers. Funding pipelines accessed include SSIP (Government of Gujarat), DPIIT recognition under the Startup India framework, the Startup India Seed Fund, the iHub Gujarat network, and the broader state and central government grant ecosystem.
Which Parul University startups have been on Shark Tank or received major recognition?
Solnce Energy, founded by Yash Tarwadi and Chintan Shah through the PIERC incubation pathway, secured a Rs 1 crore investment on Shark Tank India Season 4, with Aman Gupta (boAt Lifestyle co-founder) backing the investment. Voldebug Innovations, founded by Meet Bisht, Monika Chand, and Rohit Ganaka, received the Outstanding Performance Award from Shri Amit Shah, the Honourable Home Minister of India, for its Security Information System (SIS) cybersecurity software. Cligent Aerospace, founded by Harsh Joshi and Vivek Dhut, is developing India's first hydrogen-electric, zero-emission aircraft (a 9-seater STOL aircraft for regional cargo and passenger mobility). Dori Handcrafts, founded by Tushar Ahir, was showcased at the Republic Plenary Meet, New Delhi, before the Hon'ble Prime Minister, with the venture operating a sustainable macramé brand integrating 50+ rural artisans. Yield Pro Earth, founded by Ram Mehta and Sameer Mehta, secured a Rs 75 lakh purchase order from the ICICI Foundation for affordable, electricity-free irrigation solutions and was recognised as the Best Performer Startup in Incubation.
How does PIERC fund the startups it incubates?
PIERC provides funding through multiple pipelines depending on the venture's stage and qualification criteria. The Student Startup and Innovation Policy (SSIP) grants from the Government of Gujarat support ideation and prototype-stage ventures with grants up to specified thresholds. DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) recognition under the Startup India framework provides regulatory and tax benefits alongside access to government grant pathways. The Startup India Seed Fund operates as a substantial seed-funding pathway disbursed through recognised incubators including PIERC. The iHub Gujarat network provides additional funding alongside ecosystem connections. Beyond grants, PIERC connects founders to angel investors and venture capitalists through the Vadodara Startup Festival and ongoing investor introductions, with the cumulative Rs 20 crore plus funding figure spanning both grants and equity investments. Customer revenue alongside funding (such as Yield Pro Earth's Rs 75 lakh ICICI Foundation purchase order) contributes to the Rs 40 crore plus cumulative revenue figure across the PU startup portfolio.
How can a student start a venture through PIERC at Parul University?
Students at Parul University access PIERC across multiple engagement levels. Idea-stage students can attend ideation workshops, the Vadodara Startup Festival, and the Women Startup Meet (for female students) to engage with the broader entrepreneurship ecosystem. Prototype-stage students can apply for SSIP grants through PIERC's grant-support pathway, with Sonal Sudani as the Incubation Manager focused specifically on grant applications. Pilot-stage and growth-stage ventures access the full incubation pathway including the Startup Studios in Vadodara, Surat, Ahmedabad, and Rajkot, registration support across DPIIT, GST, and Trademark, business model development, customer validation methodology, investor introductions, and the broader operational infrastructure. PIERC operates across both Parul University students and external founders, with non-student founders accessing the infrastructure through separate engagement pathways. The complete engagement process and application timelines are maintained on pierc.org.
Are there international engagements through PIERC at Parul University?
Yes. The Young Entrepreneurship Exchange Project (YEEP) operates as a collaboration with Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH), Switzerland, bringing Swiss students to PIERC at Parul University for Indian startup ecosystem exposure and supporting PIERC-incubated founders and PIBA MBA students engaging with the Swiss startup ecosystem. The combined PIBA Switzerland engagement and PIERC Switzerland engagement represent a decade-long partnership across MoUs in 2016 to 2020 and 2021 to 2026. Beyond the Switzerland engagement, PIERC ventures access international market entry support through the broader 120+ foreign university partnerships at Parul University and the Inspire New Zealand Centre of Excellence with 7 New Zealand universities. The institutional position on SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) at Top 20 in India in the Times Higher Education Sustainability Impact Ratings 2026 reflects the partnership infrastructure that PIERC operationalises across both domestic and international engagements.
