India’s first IoT centre starts in Bangalore

India's first center for excellence in Internet of Things (IoT)—where sensors in devices talk to each other and share data using the internet—has been launched in Bengaluru, with five startups, including The startups Wireless Controls, Uncanny Vision, LightMetrics, ThingsCloud and SAAR Microsystems.

The center, which can house 40 startups, is jointly set up by National Association of Software and Service Company (NASSCOM), Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY) and Education and Research Network (ERNET).

Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister for IT and Electronics said that he expects the center to propel products in priority sectors like Healthcare, education and agriculture.

The IoT center, which allows startups to build a prototype and test them, will focus on building solutions for applications such as agriculture, automobile, telecom, healthcare and consumer goods.

"IoT is one of the high-growth potential areas in the IT sector. With the growing number of IoT-based startups in the Indian market, it becomes imperative to create an enabling ecosystem to help evolve this space, empowering companies to build technologies that provide global solutions," Ajay Kumar, additional secretary, Department of Electronics and Information Technology, (DeitY) said.