S. Vishnu Sharma
Startup companies had their day at IIT Madras Research Park in Chennai recently, thanks to a startup exhibition. Start-up companies had a nice opportunity to showcase their products thanks to the exhibition organised by Incubation cell of Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M).
Among the companies to showcase their products were 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. There is another special feature to this event.
IIT Madras expo features award winning startups
There was another special point to the exposition, companies featured in it were the winners for fourth edition of National Entrepreneurship Award (NEA) 2019. The prestigious award was conferred by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India.
It is interesting to note that IITM Incubation Cell (IITMIC) is the lead partner for NEA 2019. The aim behind conferring the award is to recognise and celebrate work by young entrepreneurs and ecosystem builders from across India and instill 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.
Professor 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.
‘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, Professor Jhunjhunwala said 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.’