The Bharat Innovates 2026 National Basecamp was inaugurated at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN), marking a significant milestone in India’s efforts to identify, strengthen, and globally position its most promising deep-tech innovations. Held from December 18 to 20, 2025, the three-day event brings together approximately 400 startups and research-led innovations that have been shortlisted through a rigorous national screening process. Organised under the aegis of the Ministry of Education and the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India, and coordinated jointly by the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) and IITGN, the event saw attendance from scientific luminaries, founders, business leaders, venture capitalists, investors, and sci-tech enthusiasts. 

Speakers at the inaugural session highlighted the programme’s role in strengthening research commercialisation, industry–academia linkages, and policy-backed innovation ecosystems. The closed-door pitching sessions and open deep tech exhibition showcased Innovations spanning 13 strategic domains, including AI, semiconductors, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, and space technologies. The Basecamp serves as a critical mentoring and evaluation stage ahead of the International Showcase to be held next year in France, where Indian technologies will take their place on the global stage. 

Formaldehyde, a highly toxic chemical, must be converted into value-added products. A recent paper by researchers from Chonnam National University presents an engineered enzyme system that converts the highly toxic formaldehyde into L-glyceraldehyde, a valuable chiral compound, with high selectivity and conversion efficiency in a sustainable, one-pot, water-based process. This technology can help better manage environmental pollutants, supporting greener chemical manufacturing.

Mechanical ventilation is a crucial part of critical care. Many parameters must be carefully monitored to mitigate dangerous disorders like acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS); however standardized ventilation protocols are often not responsive enough. Researchers from Spain report that artificial intelligence (AI) can bridge this gap. By integrating live pulmonary parameters with historic data on ARDS progression, AI can modulate ventilation to aid recovery and reduce the need for emergency interventions.

Composite copper–lanthanum and copper–yttrium oxides developed by researchers from Japan demonstrate exceptionally high antiviral activity against non-enveloped virus. These oxides are highly stable and achieve over 99.999% viral inactivation in laboratory tests. Using first-principles calculations and experimental analysis, researchers identified how surface charge, protein inactivation, and copper valence states drive the antiviral performance—setting the stage for advanced antiviral material design.