Coimbatore : When most solutions of startups from garages in the US are for the Western world and serve the first 1 billion people, solutions developed for Indians by Indians can benefit the rest of the planet, with huge markets in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, according to a top official in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

At the launch of a Startup Master Programme by Forge Accelerator here on Friday, MeitY Joint Secretary S Gopalakrishnan said several universities in the country had so far offered masters in entrepreneurship, though most of them were theoretical.

He hoped the experiential orientation of the course coupled with the broader ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship created at Forge would make this a role model course for other incubators and institutions to emulate and ideally suited for Coimbatore, which was the bedrock of entrepreneurship.

Dr Naushad Forbes, Chairman, of the Governing Council, National Institute of Design and Co-Chairman of Forbes Marshall India, said its educational system had been extremely prescriptive and theoretical.

The startup masters programme, is a two-year full-time PG diploma in management in innovation, entrepreneurship and venture development approved by AICTE. Kumaraguru College of Technology was among the four institutions selected by AICTE to offer this course, designed by the innovation cell of HRD Ministry.

Shankar Vanavarayar, president of Kumaraguru Institutions and Forge Managing Director, said that Forge had emerged as the epicentre of the confluence of academia, industry and government.