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National Entrepreneurship 2019 Award Winners from Pan-India and IITM Madras Incubation Cell start-ups showcased their innovation during the event held at IIT Madras Research Park
IITM Incubation Cell (IITMIC) hosted a ‘Start-up Exhibition’ today (28th February 2020) featuring the Pan-India Winners of the Fourth Edition of the National Entrepreneurship Award (NEA) 2019, conferred by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India. IITMIC is the lead partner for NEA 2019.
The objective of ‘National Entrepreneurship Award’ is to recognise and celebrate work by ‘Young Entrepreneurs’ and ‘Ecosystem Builders’ from across India and instil entrepreneurial attitude among the future-generations and the youth.
The Ministry partnered with twelve premier institutes and organization including IIT Madras (Lead Partner), IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur, XLRI, TISS, NSIC, IIT Guwahati, IRMA, MANAGE, NIF, NABARD, and RSETI. These institutions were responsible for mobilizing nominations and evaluation process. A total of 4,136 applications were received various regions of India including the North East – Manipur, Sikkim and Meghalaya – besides the Andaman and Lakshadweep. They were rigorously evaluated by the partner incubators/institutes.
Delivering the Keynote Address, Padma Shri. Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Institute Professor, IIT Madras, said, “There is visibly lot of change in the country, where youngsters are aspiring to become job providers and not job seekers. However, as a start-up founder, your job is of very high responsibility where you are accountable and answerable to your employees. It is key to have a vision and get your team aligned to that vision at every stage of your start-up journey.”
Congratulating the winners for their work and efforts, Prof. Jhunjhunwala added, “Winning awards are great motivation, but your success depends on your continuous hard work and efforts. Start-up success should be measured by the economic impact and wealth creation which enables you to create true social impact.”
Around 12 teams participated in the exhibition of the NEA winners including: Planys Technologies, Unexplored Bastar, Eco 365 Neo Systek, Green Biotech Solution, Devrai Art Village, Global Enterprises, Stree Swabhiman Sanitary Napkins, AN Spice Industry, JS Enterprises, Scoutmy Trip, SURA and Aspartika. Several IITMIC Incubated start-ups also participated in the expo.