About Tech Incubation

Nirmalya is aged about 50 years old and is currently working as an independent Consultant conducting Information Systems Audits and Consulting for various Financial Institutions.

Previous to this he was based in Bangalore working for Societe Generale looking after their Asia Pacific IT Security Infrastructure. Apart from this Nirmalya has in his approximate 25 years of experience worked for various IT companies like IBM, HCL, Computer Associates - TCG in India and for HCL Malaysia and SVOA plc in Bangkok, Thailand.

Nirmalya is a member of the Board of ISACA Kolkata Chapter, member of the IT Sub Committee Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industries (BCC&I), Life member of Computer Society of India(CSI) and member of The Agri-Horticultural Society of India (AHSI)

Mr. Kalyan Kar is the Co-Founder & Director of InQube Innoventures, which incubates "Innovative Inclusive Initiatives". He firmly believes that innovative and effective utilization of technology can lead to Equitable, Inclusive & Sustainable growth for the society at large.

Currently, he is involved in incubating several start-ups in the areas of Technology, Education, BPO, Skill Development, Data Analytics and Agriculture.

Earlier, he Co-Founded an US based Healthcare Services company which was finally acquired by the World's largest employee benefits organization.

His ventures have won "Great Place to Work" award in India for 3 continuous years, as well as "Exciting Emerging Companies to Work for" by NASSCOM and was the All India Finalist for "NASSCOM Innovation Awards".

He graduated from St. Xavier's College and is a Chartered Accountant as well as a Cost Accountant by Profession.

Mr. Kar is currently in the National Education, HR & Skill Development Expert Committee of the Indian Chamber of Commerce as well as the Executive Committee of Bengal Chamber and Innovation & IT Sub-Committee of CII. He is also the Vice President of the Sector V Stakeholders' Association. He has been part of Government and Business Delegates to overseas countries promoting the "Make in India" initiative.

Arpan Pal has more than 29 years of experience in the area of Intelligent Sensing, Signal Processing &AI, Edge Computing and Affective Computing. Currently, as Chief Scientist and Research Area Head, Embedded Devices and Intelligent Systems, TCS Research, he is working in the areas of Connected Health, Smart Manufacturing and Remote Sensing.

He is on the editorial board of notable journals like ACM Transactions on Embedded Systems, Springer Nature Journal on Computer Science and is on the TPC of notable conferences like ICASSP and EUSIPCO. He has filed 165+ patents (out of which 85+ granted in different geographies) and has published 140+ papers and book chapters in reputed conferences and journals. He has also authored two books - one on IoT and another on Digital Twins in Manufacturing. He is on the governing/review/advisory board of some of the Indian Government organizations like CSIR, MeitY, TIH, IIT and IIIT.

Prior to joining Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Arpan had worked for DRDO, India as Scientist for Missile Seeker Systems and in Rebeca Technologies (erstwhile Macmet Interactive Technologies) from as their Head of Real-time Systems. He is a B.Tech and M. Tech from IIT, Kharagpur, India and PhD. from Aalborg University, Denmark.

Home Page - https://www.tcs.com/embedded-devices-intelligent-systems
Linked In - http://in.linkedin.com/in/arpanpal
Google Scholar - http://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=hkKS-xsAAAAJ&hl=en
Orcid - https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9101-8051

A Dynamic technology professional and IT evangelist who is innovative and futuristic at heart with 39 years in the Media Industry and Edu-Tech company out of which 32 years in leadership position in ABP PVT Ltd, one of the largest media conglomerate in India. Retired as Chief IT Advisor of the group and continued the service as a retainer for about 27 months and headed an SBU, called INFOCOM, one of the largest B2B Business, Technology and Leadership conference in India. Currently, in a Kolkata based Edu-Tech company as CEO, Techverita Consulting and advisor to the Chairman of the group.

Deepak Daftari is the CEO of eSiksha.com, an active Domain Investor & Angel Investor. He is the Past President of TiE Kolkata and the Current Chairman for the Entrepreneurship Committee at the Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry. He is an expert in Domain Brand Consulting and Internet Branding. He buys and sells very valuable Domain Names and web based online business. He has bought and sold multiple six figure names in the last few years. He is a pioneer in India in the Domaining space. Deepak has invested in multiple Start-ups in India and has had successful exit too from his investments. In his spare time, he mentors a lot of start-ups and helps them in their growth journey and raising funds.

Mr. Sarbajit Das specializes in solving digital challenges for brands across the globe. He is the Founder and CEO of Sun Dew Solutions Private Limited. An entrepreneur with a fierce drive to craft next-generation tech solutions with brilliant aesthetics, Mr. Das also heads an Aviation Tech, Data Security and a Food tech start up across Europe. He is also the Tech Division Head for a growing Home Warranty and Insurance Business in New York City.

Subho has over 30 years of experience in leading and integrating very large Delivery Centers across the globe with more than 13,000 associates. He is currently the Mentor and Chief Delivery Officer at Exavalu. A true strategic thinker and a recognized leader, he has managed P&L over a billion dollars and built CRM practices for global consulting companies such as Cognizant Technology Solutions and Atos. Subho has built teams from scratch that grew globally and was recognized as Leader in the Garner Magic Quadrant. He thrives on creating an engaging environment for colleagues by embracing opportunities created through operational efficiencies using the latest technology, including robotics and automation.

Mr Banerjee, is an Engineer and Entrepreneur who in a relatively short span of time has created and grown RT Network Solutions Pvt. Ltd. into a successful IT Services venture. He did his schooling from St. James School, Kolkata, followed by a 1st Class degree in Electrical & Electronics from Bangalore University. On graduation he joined HCL Technologies as a fresher, growing with this company for the next 5 years as a Networking Specialist, learning the business and supporting a wide portfolio of HCL customers. In 2004 he left HCL to set up 2 successful ventures - 24x7 Infotek and 24x7 Mindpro. In 2011 he amalgamated his 2 IT companies and other growing IT interests into RT Network Solutions (RTNS) Pvt. Ltd., of which Tanmoy is the Founder and Managing Director. Today RTNS is a 1000+ member company with offices across India and South East Asia and with a customer/ partner base which includes TCS, Wipro, Infosys, HP, Reliance etc, amongst others and poised for further growth.

Dr. Sandip Pradhan is currently the CIO of Exide Industries Ltd., Kolkata. Previously he was the CIO of Mangalam Cement Limited (BK Birla Group, Kolkata). Being a PhD in Management he is a certified leader acclaimed by Leadership Effectiveness & Development (LEAD) - XLRI, Jamshedpur, Leadership Practicum - Managing Change and Complexity - Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, Exide Master Coach and Top Team Effectiveness Journey (McKinsey & Exide).

Some of his technical expertise in the professional life involves, 29+ years (23+ years in SAP / ERP domain) of IT experience leading solution design, delivery of projects over complex IT landscapes and high performance solutions across multiple industry verticals, Automotive, Building Materials, and IT Education.

Dr. Pradhan is MBA in Information Technology, Bsc. Hons. In Statistics additionally with a vast teaching experience in premier institutes like, IIM, BIT Mesra, SNU, Techno International Newtown.

Most notable digital transformations spearheaded by himself involves, SMART Connected Battery Initiative(IoT), Augmented Reality with Smart Glass (shorter downtime and reduced travel cost), Interactive Remote visit - Telepresence Robot, Chatbot & WhatsApp for call logging (reduction in Call Centre manpower), Conversational Artificial Intelligence (Process automation).

Dr. Pradhan is also the member of IT Committee - BCC&I, BOG-Techno International Newtown, SAP Product Advisory Council (PAC), Mentor - WEBEL-BCC&I Tech Incubation Center at present.

A Seasoned Startup Entrepreneur in the field of Education Technology-Digital Smart Class Room. With a demonstrated history of 22+ years, Ms. Minal Bhagat is working in the information technology and services industry. Scaling Business from Scratch to top through ART of WAR techniques is her forte. One notable example is the growth of NCS Computech, a homegrown company that utilized warfare techniques to achieve a remarkable upscaling of business from 5 crore to 200 crore in products and services for renowned security tech leaders such as Sequirite QH antivirus, Fortinet, SonicWall, and Sophos. Ms. Bhagat’s approach revolve around delivering value to customers by simplifying technology and creating a WIN-WIN formula for all stakeholders involved. Furthermore, her expertise in brand management, have successfully penetrated challenging markets like Manipur, Tripura, and other northeastern states, where local barriers were overcome through the implementation of "techniques of differentiation" and strategic repositioning of competitors. Overall, her track record demonstrates a strong understanding of warfare techniques applied in a business context, allowing for successful scaling and growth while consistently providing value to customers and stakeholders alike. Ms. Bhagat’s experience and knowledge in the education technology sector have been instrumental in achieving such remarkable results. She is Director, Ensonic Computech Pvt. Ltd.

Mr. Anil Joshi is the Founder and Managing Partner at Unicorn India Ventures, a leading Venture Capital Fund focusing on early-stage investments in tech companies. With over two decades of experience in the field, he pioneered angel investments in India as the head of operations and President at Mumbai Angels, one of the most reputable and prolific Angel Investment forums in India. As an early mover in early 2000 in this segment, Anil was investing in budding companies even before venture investment had taken any formal shape in India.

Within the start-up ecosystem, Mr. Joshi has been at the helm of over 100 venture-financing deals. He serves on the board of several companies in the field of Fintech, Robotic, Meditech, IOT, Bigdata, SaaS and is involved with multiple incubation centres as a board member and mentor in India as well as internationally. Additionally, he also advices the government and industry bodies on start-ups regarding policy. Young entrepreneurs draw upon his vast experience for guidance and strategic direction for their own start-ups.

As an accomplished public speaker with informed opinions about the sector, he is much sought after at start-up events both in the domestic and the international circuit. His speaking engagements have taken him to countries like Singapore, Malaysia, USA, Canada, China, France, Australia and the Middle East.

Mr. Joshi's corporate experience includes management functions in medium and large organizations, project management, joint ventures and business development. Prior to joining Mumbai Angels, he was heading new projects and investment in start-ups with Artheon Group, a Telecom, IT & Energy group. His early career started as the head of a branch office at Century Rayon, a leading Indian textile conglomerate, after which he moved to Business Access India Pvt. Ltd., providing consulting services to Scandinavian companies from diverse sectors establishing their presence in the Asian markets. He then moved to Transasia Biomedical Ltd., India’s largest manufacturer and exporter of bio-medical equipment.

A serial entrepreneur for over 25 years, Gaurav Kapoor currently heads New Initiatives & External Relations in his current role as Chief Business Officer at IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, the business incubator of IIM Calcutta. Having worked across multiple domains, both business and social, he has a deep focus on Social Entrepreneurship & brings to the table a wide knowledge base from experiential learning to deep rooted skills in business planning & development.

Mr. Manoj Kumar Agarwal is Founder and Managing Partner at SEAFUND, a India based Venture Capital Fund focusing on early stage investments in technology businesses with focus on Deeptech. He has been also an active Angel Investor, investing in multiple startups. He has wide experience both as an entrepreneur and as a corporate leader in Fund deployment, Fund raising, setting up joint ventures. M & A and business development.Manoj has invested into 16 ventures as part of the fund and about 20+ deals as an Angel Investor. He is currently in his 2nd Fund. Manoj serves on the Advisory board of multiple companies both in India and overseas and is involved with various incubation and Accelerator Programs. He has been actively participating in various Startup programs both in India & Overseas. He is passionate about mentoring and advising startups. He is also part of a Seed Investment committee of the DST, Govt. of India funded Incubators. Before Starting SEAFUND, Manoj has been helping some MSME’s scale up their businesses, especially in IT and Telecom space. Prior to that he was CEO of a listed entity in India with Global presence across Floriculture, Food, Retail and IT. He has managed the fund deployment, management and investment strategy of the Group, which included risk assessment, investments in new business areas like telecom, food processing, retail & acquisitions, corporate fund raise by way of issuance of global depositary receipts (GDRs), foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) and subsequently, raising capital from private equity funds. He was instrumental in starting some of the new businesses like Internet Services, Food Processing, Floriculture Retail and also involved in various M & A deals including acquisition of the largest Rose farm in the world based in Kenya. Manoj was actively involved in managing operations across India, Africa, Europe and Middle East.Manoj is an early Tech & Internet Entrepreneur where he setup a Multimedia venture in Kolkata, which he exited and then was part of the founding team of a Venture funded Internet Startup In Bangalore which he exited in 2002.Manoj graduated in Computer Science from BMS college of Engineering (India’s 1st Private Engineering college), Bangalore and is an INSEAD Business School Alumni.

Shantanu Som is a visionary technology entrepreneur, innovator, and the Founder and CEO of Somnetics (Som Imaging Informatics Pvt. Ltd.). Renowned for his expertise in enterprise workflow automation and proprietary intellectual property creation, Som has established himself as a pivotal figure in India's tech landscape. His strategic leadership was recently spotlighted by Business Today, featuring him among the prominent "Leaders Shaping Viksit Bharat" for his vital role in driving the nation’s digital transformation and economic roadmap toward 2047.

Under his direction, Somnetics has evolved into a powerhouse of indigenous technology, earning prestigious accolades including multiple CRN Excellence Awards for Intellectual Property Creation and Robotic Process Automation (RPA). Driven by a belief that a company's strength lies in its people, Som has fostered an exemplary corporate culture. This focus has secured Somnetics consecutive Great Place to Work® certifications, culminating in a sweep of major 2026 honors, including India's Best Companies to Work For and India's Best Employers Among Nation-Builders.

Individually, Som's contributions to tech self-reliance were honored with the Indigenous Digital Transformation Platform Development Award at the Nation Builders Excellence Awards 2025. A respected voice in industry governance, he actively shapes the future of the IT sector through his roles as a Regional Council Member for NASSCOM and an active committee member within the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and The Bengal Chambers. Som is a compelling leader dedicated to building high-impact, homegrown digital infrastructure.