Significant milestone in strengthening entrepreneurship
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 20: The Mission YUVA Selection Round, organized at the Indian Institute of Management Jammu, concluded successfully, marking a significant milestone in strengthening innovation-led entrepreneurship across Jammu & Kashmir.
The event brought together selected innovators and aspiring entrepreneurs from across the Union Territory, who presented research-driven and scalable ventures before an eminent Selection Committee constituted under the Mission YUVA Neo-Innovative Enterprises Scheme. The committee comprised distinguished representatives from Government, academia, industry, and the investment ecosystem, ensuring a robust, transparent, and merit-based evaluation process.
Following a rigorous multi-stage screening process, 86 high-potential startups were shortlisted to pitch for grant funding under the Mission YUVA Neo-Innovative Enterprises Scheme. The participating ventures demonstrated strong technological depth, commercialization readiness, scalability potential, and a clear focus on generating measurable societal and economic impact.
The pitching sessions reflected the growing maturity of Jammu & Kashmir’s startup ecosystem, showcasing innovative solutions across artificial intelligence, biotechnology, healthcare innovation, agriculture, sustainability-driven enterprises, and technology-enabled social impact models. Each startup was evaluated on clearly defined parameters, including team strength, innovation quotient, intellectual property potential, market viability, financial planning, scalability, and alignment with national and regional development priorities.
The evaluation process was conducted under the guidance of a high-level Selection Committee comprising Prof. B. S. Sahay, Chairman, Selection Committee & Director, IIM Jammu, Kumar Rajeev Rajan (IAS), Member, Selection Committee; Secretary, Labour & Employment Department, Government of Jammu & Kashmir, Harvinder Singh, Member, Selection Committee; Director Employment & Mission Director, Mission YUVA, Government of Jammu & Kashmir, Dr. Anil Wali, Member, Selection Committee; CEO, BITS BioCyTiH Foundation (Academic Representative), Tushar Gandotra, Member, Selection Committee; Founder, X42 Venture Studio & VC Connect (Investor Representative), Gagan Jain, Member, Selection Committee; Director, VKC Nuts Pvt. Ltd. (Industry Representative), Dr. Muqbil Burhan, Member, Selection Committee; CEO, Innovation Hub & Chairperson, Centre for Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Skill Development (CEISD), IIM Jammu
The presence of a diverse and nationally aligned Selection Committee ensured transparency, accountability, and adherence to robust innovation and commercialization benchmarks throughout the evaluation process.
The selection round was conducted under the guidance of Harvinder Singh, Director Employment & Mission Director, Mission YUVA, Government of Jammu & Kashmir; with coordination support from the organising team comprising Dr. Vivek Sharma, Chief Innovation Officer, IIM Jammu, Gauri Deoli, Tejan Sharma, Kannav Padha, Druvi Sharma and Anjali Goswami.
The post Mission YUVA Selection Round at IIM Jammu concludes appeared first on Daily Excelsior.