The Government of Andhra Pradesh has appointed Dr. Hafeez Basha as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub (RTIH) – Anantapur Spoke. The appointment order was issued by Sri Shiv Narayan Sharma IAS, Joint Collector and Additional District Magistrate, Anantapur. In his new role, Dr. Basha will report dually to the Chairperson, RTIH Board – Anantapur and Smt. P. Dhatri Reddy IAS, Group CEO of RTIH and CEO of the Andhra Pradesh Innovation Society (APIS).
The Ratan Tata Innovation Hub (RTIH) is a flagship initiative of the Government of Andhra Pradesh to promote innovation, technology-led entrepreneurship, and grassroots impact introduced by Shri Nara Chandra Babu Naidu, Hon’ble Chief Minister. RTIH is structured as a Hub-and-Spoke network, with the central Hub located in Amaravati and five regional spokes operating from Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Rajamahendravaram, Tirupati, and Anantapur.
As CEO of the Anantapur Spoke, Dr. Basha will work closely with the District Administrations of Anantapur, Kurnool, Nandyal, and Sri Sathya Sai, as well as major academic institutions including the Central University of Andhra Pradesh, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Anantapur (JNTU-A), Sri Krishnadevaraya University, and other colleges in the region. He will also engage with industries, corporate partners, and MSMEs to build a robust innovation pipeline with thrust areas spanning Automotive and Electric Vehicles, Hybrid Renewable Energy, Agri & Food Processing, Logistics and Warehousing, and Defence & Aerospace sectors.
Earlier, Dr. Basha served as Advisor to the Government of Telangana in the Department of Information Technology, Electronics & Communication (ITE&C), contributing to the Photonics Valley Corporation (PVC) a strategic initiative covering Semiconductors, Silicon Photonics, and Quantum Technologies. During his tenure, he played a pivotal role in establishing Centres-of-Excellence (CoEs) in VLSI, IoT, and Embedded Systems, in collaboration with global technology leaders such as Qualcomm, TCS, AMD, and Siemens as well as Research Centre Imarat (RCI-DRDO), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Hyderabad), Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC), etc.
Dr. Basha is widely recognised for championing the integration of startups and incubators within educational institutions. He has been instrumental in establishing business incubators in more than 40 colleges across India. He also initiated the T-Academic Incubators Consortium alongside the T-Incubators & Accelerators Forum, moderated by the Telangana Innovation Cell (TGIC), fostering cross-institutional collaboration and enabling knowledge-sharing across academia. A key outcome of his efforts was the increased participation of institutional incubators in the monthly T-Incubators Round Table Meet, a distinctive platform that rotates among incubators across Telangana.
Upon returning to his home state, he introduced the Andhra Pradesh Incubators Round Table Meet, successfully conducting sessions at the Technology Business Incubators of Vignan University, RVR & JC College of Engineering (A), and later at the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub (RTIH). He also served as a Task Force Member at RTIH Amaravati, providing insights and guidance to the central team in coordination with the Department of ITE&C, Government of Andhra Pradesh, before taking up this coveted post of CEO RTIH Anantapur Spoke.
Dr. Basha completed his Ph. D from Kumamoto University, Japan under the prestigious Monbukagakusho (MEXT) Scholarship awarded by the Government of Japan. He received the ‘Dean’s Award for Research Excellence’ during his convocation. He earned his M.Tech from Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, supported by sponsorship from Thomson Reuters’ ‘Learn-While-You-Learn Program,’ through which he was also honoured with the ‘Young Scientist Award’. He holds a B.Tech from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad.
Dr. Basha has served as Advisor / Expert at the esteemed Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and later spearheaded as CEO for Technology Business Incubators of Chandigarh University, Osmania University, etc. He also set-up an Incubation Centre at the Engineering Staff College of India (ESCI), an autonomous organ of the Institution of Engineers (India).
Additionally, he has held significant advisory and mentorship roles with national agencies including the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Atal Innovation Mission (NITI Aayog), National Rural Entrepreneurship Mission (MoE-MGNCRE), Tamil Nadu Rural Transformation Mission (World Bank funded Vazhndhu Kattuvom Project), WE-Enable Program of WE-Hub, Government of Telangana and the HDFC Parivartan Grant.
