ImagiNxt 2026 Ties Up With MeitY To Bring Startups Closer To Policy

India’s startup ecosystem has never lacked visibility. What it has often struggled with is access – access to policymakers, to market pathways, and to conversations that shape how technology scales nationally. The partnership between ImagiNxt 2026 and MeitY Startup Hub appears designed to address precisely that gap.

Announced ahead of ImagiNxt 2026, scheduled for 22–23 May at the Jio World Centre in Mumbai, the collaboration brings government-backed ecosystem orchestration into what has traditionally been a founder- and enterprise-led technology forum.

Rather than positioning startups as side-stage participants, the partnership places them at the centre of policy dialogue, ecosystem engagement, and future-facing technology conversations.

From Festival Programming To Structural Participation

ImagiNxt 2026 is being positioned as more than a technology festival. With MeitY Startup Hub joining as a strategic partner, the event is evolving into a platform where founders are expected to engage directly with policy frameworks, digital public infrastructure narratives, and national innovation priorities.

MeitY Startup Hub operates under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, with a mandate to catalyse innovation across startups, deep tech, and emerging digital technologies. Its involvement introduces a policy-to-founder interface that has often remained fragmented across India’s innovation landscape.

As part of the partnership, MeitY Startup Hub will contribute to startup-led programming, policy conversations, and curated ecosystem engagements, enabling deeper participation from founders, innovators, and institutions.

The collaboration reflects a broader recognition that India’s next phase of digital growth will not be driven by isolated innovation but by coordinated movement between startups, enterprises, and the state.

“India’s digital ambition will be realised by how effectively startups, policy and enterprise move together, at speed and at scale,” said Deepak Lamba, Founder and CEO, ImagiNxt. “Partnering with MeitY Startup Hub strengthens ImagiNxt’s ability to serve as a platform where founders are not merely visible but structurally connected to capital, markets, policymakers and global opportunity.”

The emphasis on structural connection marks a shift from typical event-led exposure towards outcomes that extend beyond the conference floor—particularly relevant for deep tech and digital infrastructure startups navigating long adoption cycles.

Policy As An Enabler

For MeitY Startup Hub, the partnership aligns with its goal of embedding startups into India’s digital policy and innovation agenda rather than engaging them as downstream beneficiaries.

“India’s digital growth depends on strong collaboration between government, industry, startups and academia,” said Dr Panneerselvam Madanagopal, CEO, MeitY Startup Hub. “ImagiNxt brings these stakeholders together in a structured and forward-looking way.”

This framing positions policy not as an external constraint, but as an active enabler, particularly as India builds digital public infrastructure and scales innovation at the population level.

ImagiNxt 2026 is being shaped as a global convening where technology, enterprise, policy, science, and creativity intersect. The partnership with MeitY Startup Hub reinforces a longer-term intent: aligning startup innovation with national priorities around inclusion, scale, and resilience.

Further details on MeitY Startup Hub-led sessions, startup showcases, and ecosystem initiatives are expected in the coming months. What is already clear, however, is the underlying signal.

India’s startup ecosystem is entering a phase where success will depend less on exposure and more on execution, where founders are not just showcased but systematically embedded into the country’s digital future.