Four from Tamil Nadu clinch Natl. Entrepreneurship Awards

The awards are part of thegovernment’s initiatives toencourage entrepreneurship in the country.

Out of the 36 awardees across various sectors in the start-up category, the four winners from Tamil Nadu, includesIIT-Madras Incubation Cell’s Planys Technologies; Sura – a Women Collective stitching unit in Cuddalore; Sabariguru Repair Services, a home appliance repair centre founded by differently-abled entrepreneur Shaktivel and EntrepreneurshipDevelopment and InnovationInstitute (EDII).

The three entrepreneurs won Rs five lakh each along with a trophy and a certificate while EDII received a cash prize of Rs ten lakh in addition to a trophy and a certificate.

Speaking on the entrepreneurial growth culture in India,Mahendra Nath Pandey,Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, said, “Today, India is at a threshold of a start-up boom, as we have the world’s third fastest growing start-up eco-system. With 7,200 start-ups, India is close behind the UK with 11,864 start-ups and US which had 41,500 start-ups as of 2018. India is changing and this is evidence of drastic improvement in the business environment, fuelled by the innovative modules of business that the youth of the country are coming up with. It is our priority to give support to the aspiring talents and encourage our young minds to dream big andachieve bigger.”

He further added, “NEA is a great platform to encourage aspiring entrepreneurs and recognise the exemplary work that they have done adding to their professional and nation’s overall growth. I wish them the very best for their future and hope they motivate many more.”

Due to the concerted ground level effort, this year, theMinistry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship witnessed a sharp increase not only in the total number of applications, but also in terms of completed applications from a varietyof businesses.

These initiatives were in the form of targeted meetings, focused workshops, specialised gatherings like MSME meets, seminars at alumni gatherings of various business schools, one-on-one interaction with entrepreneurs during fairs andexhibitions. The number of completed applications grew from 2,379 last year to 4,134 this year.

This 73% growth of successful entrepreneurs completing their application for National Entrepreneurship Awards 2019 is reflection of the increasing seriousness of young entrepreneurs for the coveted NationalEntrepreneurship Awards.