New Delhi, September 21, 2021

To mark the 75th year of Independence, Management Entrepreneurship Professional Skills Council (MEPSC), under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in association with ThinkStartup (TS) which in the area of entrepreneurship education for K12 segment and Bajaj Allianz Life is organising India@75 Youth Ideathon, a festive competition of innovative entrepreneurship ideas by school students. The three-stage competition will be held from 21st Sept to 13th Nov 2021 with an aim to inculcate the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship amongst school students through the power of ideas which can transform the nation. The winning ideas will be developed into prototypes/products.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has recognised the Youth Ideathon. Macmillan Education, Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), sheatwork and Renewables, Law Sikho, Skills Trainer, CISS, IIM Visakhapatnam, Care and Allied Services, Olive Heritage and Ginger Webs are also partnering for the Youth Ideathon.

Students of classes 6 to 12 from all over India including CBSE affiliated schools in foreign countries can participate in the Youth Ideathon for free on the website www.youthideathon.in  specially created for the purpose and submit as many ideas as they want to. The Youth Ideathon is expected to see participation by lakhs of students along with a vast array of awards for the young innovators 500 participants from across the country will be shortlisted through video interviews from which the top 100 finalists of India@75 Youth Ideathon will be selected. There are exciting prizes in the form of cash awards, mentoring, incubation and learning support to participating students. The organisers have also scheduled daily webinars with successful entrepreneurs during the competition.

Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, Hon’ble Minister of State, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Govt. of India, Chief Guest at the launch ceremony of Youth Ideathon in his address said, “I am delighted that India@75 Youth Ideathon, a festival to celebrate the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship is being organized. I am especially happy that Ideathon is being organized for school children at a large scale for the first time.”

Dr. Biswajit Saha, Director, CBSE who was a Guest of Honour at the launch event said, “India@75 Youth Ideathon aims to bring together students from various backgrounds having a passion for innovation and belief in their ability to transform the country with their ideas on one platform. I urge more and more students to come forward and participate in this Youth Ideathon.”

Dr. Chintan Vaishnav, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission said, “This is a welcome step to bring young students into the innovation ecosystem at a young age to experience the power of entrepreneurship.”

Col. Anil Kumar Pokhriyal, CEO, MEPSC said “Our children today are the future of India. We are delighted to be supporting this event as it provides thrust to entrepreneurship at the right age.” 

Ms. Shivani Singh Kapoor, Founder, ThinkStartup, expressed hope that India@75 Youth Ideathon would provide the connecting link between New Education Policy and Startup India; it shall lay the path to India’s technological leap to global leadership.

Mr. Tarun Chugh, MD & CEO of Bajaj Allianz Life said “We are excited to be a part of the Youth Ideation which provides a platform to the young minds to learn and grow through programs focused on innovation and entrepreneurship. This will go a long way in empowering our next generation to harness their goals and at the same time laying a foundation of their vision for Bharat.”

According to Sanjeeva Shivesh, Co-Founder, ThinkStartup & Programme Director, Youth Ideathon, “We believe that the time for Youth Ideathon has come. It shall be transformative for India and therefore, the thrust in Youth Ideathon is "Mera idea jo badal de Bharat".

Dr. Sudha Acharya, Principal of ITL Public School, Dwarka, New Delhi, said, “We have some excellent innovation focussed students in our school who have developed creative solutions that makes lives easier for common people. Our students are excited about Youth Ideathon and are raring to go.” 

According to Ruby Sinha, Founder, sheatwork, “The need of education is to create job providers. Students are entrepreneurs of the future and competitions like the India@75 Youth Ideathon help them get an idea of the power of innovative ideas. We hope more and more girl students come forward and participate in this festival of ideas.”

Tanvith Reddy, a Class 7 student from Model High School, Hyderabad said, “Youth Ideathon is a golden opportunity for me to showcase the smart multi-lingual education technology I am building for students who cannot attend classes due to Covid.” 

The Winner of India@75 – Youth Ideathon will be awarded Rs. 1 Lakh; 1st Runner Up of India@75 – Youth Ideathon will receive Rs. 60,000 and the 2nd Runner Up of India@75 – Youth Ideathon will be given Rs. 40,000. There will be a special award of Rs. 25000 for the best idea by a female student to be sponsored by sheatwork. Besides these, there will be 700 more awards in the form of Top 10 Ideas Certificate + 3 Month Mentoring; Top 100 Ideas Certificate + Young Ideator; Top 500 Rank Certificates; Most Popular Idea award (Rs. 10,000); Best Idea from each State (Rs.10,000). Participating schools can win Certificates of Appreciation and Ideas Innovation Trophies.

There are also individual certificates and cash prizes of Rs 25,000 each alongwith mentoring for the Best Green Idea, Best Automation and Robotics Idea, Best Finance Idea, Best Health and Fitness Idea, Best Entertainment and Gaming Idea, Best Education Idea, Best Rural Development Idea, Best Space Tech Idea, Best Social Idea and Best Consumer Product Idea.