India's agri, water deeptech ecosystem gains momentum as startups push for commercialisation and scale: Report
New Delhi, June 12
India's deeptech ecosystem in agriculture and water management is gaining momentum, with a growing number of startups moving beyond pilot projects and focusing on large-scale commercialisation, industry body Nasscom said on Friday.
Highlighting the trend at the Deeptech Confluence 2026 here, the industry body said innovations powered by AI, IoT, biotechnology and climate technologies are increasingly attracting interest from enterprises, investors and policymakers seeking scalable solutions to address challenges in the country's agriculture and water sectors.
Speaking at the event, Sangeeta Gupta, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at Nasscom, said agriculture and water are two sectors where deeptech can deliver significant economic, environmental and social impact.
"India has a strong base of founders building solutions that combine AI, IoT, biotech, materials science, sensing, automation and climate technologies," she said.
"Through the Deeptech Confluence, Nasscom is enabling stronger market access, enterprise engagement and implementation pathways for deeptech startups," Gupta added.
The event showcased 12 innovative startups from the Nasscom Deeptech Club's 20-week growth programme, DTC Accelerate, which is aimed at helping deeptech ventures move beyond pilot projects and achieve scalable enterprise deployments.
The Confluence served as a platform for discussions on market access, enterprise adoption, investment readiness, pilot-to-scale transitions and cross-sector collaboration.
The initiative comes at a time when India's agriculture and water sectors are facing increasing pressure from climate change, sustainability concerns, resource constraints and the growing need for resilient productivity systems.
While innovation in agritech and watertech has gained momentum in recent years, many startups continue to struggle with scaling their solutions beyond the pilot stage.
Nasscom said the Confluence was designed to bridge this gap by connecting innovators with enterprises, investors, government agencies and implementation partners capable of supporting real-world deployment and adoption.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Good to see Nasscom focusing on deeptech for agriculture. But I hope these startups also consider small and marginal farmers who can't afford expensive sensors or drones. The real challenge is making these technologies affordable and accessible in rural India. Please don't make it just another urban tech bubble 🙏
Absolutely needed! Our water table is depleting rapidly in states like Punjab and Haryana. AI-driven irrigation systems and biotech solutions for drought-resistant crops could be game changers. But mere innovation is not enough—govt needs to partner with these startups to subsidize deployment. Otherwise these solutions will remain in labs and conference rooms.
Nice report but sceptical about the execution. I have seen Indian agritech startups promising moonshots but failing in ground-level delivery. The gap between pilot and scale is real. The 20-week accelerator is too short—these are complex deep-domain problems. But respect to Nasscom for trying. Let's see results in two years.
Water scarcity is no joke in our country. In my village in Maharashtra, farmers are fighting over borewells every summer. Any tech that can optimise water usage is welcome! Also happy to see 12 startups being showcased—Indian entrepreneurs are truly stepping up to solve Bharat's problems. Kudos to the team behind DTC Accelerate 👏
One critical point missing in this report: data ownership and privacy for farmers. When startups deploy IoT sensors and AI in fields, who owns that data? We need strong frameworks to ensure farmers benefit
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