Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh Launches Chandigarh University's 'Campus Tank', India's Largest University Startup Launchpad

“Todays Youth is the architect of Vikshit Bharat. If we really want to maximize our potential, we have to make use of our immense human resources. We have the right milieu and much has changed ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over the leadership of the country. It’s for everyone to make use of the opportunity,” said Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh at the national launch of ‘Campus Tank‘, India’s pioneering university-led startup launchpad designed to empower student innovators, hosted by Chandigarh University at Constitution Club of India, New Delhi in collaboration with Apna, India’s largest job portal and Venture Catalysts, the nation’s foremost venture capital fund driving startup growth.

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Union Minister, Dr. Jitendra Singh along with Rajya Sabha MP Satnam Singh Sandhu during the launch of Campus Tank at New Delhi

The national launch of Campus Tank, which has a dedicated funding pool of US$ 6 million to nurture next-generation innovators below 30 years of age, has set the stage for young innovators to pitch their ideas and get funding to launch their startups along with expert venture guidance, strategic ecosystem alliances and immersive startup incubation.

The Union Minister said North India needs to catch-up pace with South India in the field of Startups and Entrepreneurship. “North India is still obsessed by government jobs, which prisons you in a mall shell, because of the colonial rule. In this part of the country, we need to have a greater push than before to make the best of the opportunity. It’s been an amazing journey in the past one decade. We have to engage private sector as much as we can to achieve the vision of Viksit Bharat. For this Campus Tank with a funding pool of $6 Million funding for innovators below 30 years of age which comprises 70% India’s population is great initiative. It will specially give a push to entrepreneurship in North India which is lagging behind a bit when it comes to startup movement,” he said.

Dr Jitendra Singh further said, “There is no lack of funding. In science and technology, there is 900% hike in budget. We have given all the freedom for industry. We have floated National Research Foundation and dedicated schemes for universities which have been started to democratise government funding. So results are happening in miraculous manner. India’s ranks 39th position among 133 global economies in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024. We have over 1.8 lakh startups out which about 60 % are women led. Our key projects like Aditya Mission are being led by women. In patent filing, we are now 6th in the world and over 66% of the 64,000 patents filed in the past six years have been filed by people residing in India. Today we have vast resources in every sector.”

The Union Minister said Startups in India need to look beyond fields like AI and ML. “In India, we actually need startups in under-explored sectors like agriculture, space and Himalayas. We launched Aroma Mission to boost Indias aroma industry by enhancing the cultivation of aromatic crops and production of essential oils. Today we have over 3000 startups in this sector who have making profits in millions of rupees. That’s where universities will play a big role as almost 50 % startups in India come from B Towns because aspiration level in our towns in much higher than metros where there is no dearth of opportunities,” he said.

Besides Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, the dignitaries who graced the ceremony for national launch of Campus Tank, which has a dedicated funding pool of US$ 6 million to nurture next-generation innovators below 30 years of age, included Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and Chancellor of Chandigarh University, Satnam Singh Sandhu, Prof (Dr) TG Sitharam, Chairman, AICTE, Surya Kant, CEO, Atal Incubation Center-BIMTECH, Prof Himani Sood, Pro Chancellor, Chandigarh University, Siddharth Anand, Associate Director, Enterprise Marketing, Apna and Dr Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, Co-Founder, Venture Catalysts.

The launch of Campus Tank was also attended by dignitaries from the industry and Startup Founders including Padmaja Ruparel, Senior Managing Partner and Co-Founder at IAN Group, Prachi Kaushik, Founder and Director, Vyomini, L Venkata Subramaniam, IBM Quantum India Leader, Dr Vishal Gandhi, Founder and CEO, BIORx Venture Advisors, Subhash Chand Aggarwal, Chairman & MD, SMC Global Securities, Amit Singhal, General Partner, Fluid Ventures, Gaurav Kumar, Associate Partner, KPMG, Vineet Sagar, Managing Partner, Venture Garage and Srishti Arora, Corporate Innovation Lead, India Accelerator.

In his address, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and Chancellor of Chandigarh University, Satnam Singh Sandhu said, “Any nation’s progress depends on its vision and we are fortunate to have leadership of PM Modi who have given us the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat. Our visionary leader PM Modi launched Startup India initiative in 2016 to foster innovation and create a thriving startup ecosystem for economic growth and large-scale employment opportunities. With Ease of Doing Business, tax benefits, early stage funding support through Rs 10,000 crore Fund of Funds for Startups and sector-specific policies, Startup India initiative has played a pivotal role in shaping a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country. India has firmly established itself as the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world with over 1.89 lakh startups and 119 unicorns with $1 billion valuation,”

“We are working to realize the target of having 5000 Unicorns in India given by Government of India. For this, PM Modi has ignited the spirit of Startups in nations youth. Campus Tank Launched by Chandigarh University in line with the Mission to make India a nation of NextGen Unicorns as the world over we have seen how ideas generated in colleges and universities become million-dollar businesses. The top global companies were not born in corporate boardrooms but in university or colleges campuses. Of the over 10 lakh startups in the USA, 76% originated from student ideas conceived at University and College Campuses. These include US’s top MNCs including Google which originated from Stanford University, Facebook founded by Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard University, Apple founded by two students after dropping out from Reed College and UC Berkeley, Microsoft was also co-founded by college students of Harvard University and Washington State College. As India’s youth are also becoming job creators instead of job seekers, over 18 lakh direct jobs have been created by start-ups in the last decade with smaller cities contributing over 51% of these startups. Through ‘Campus Tank, our aim is to play a role in nurturing this growth and empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs from university and college campuses,” he added.

Sandhu further said, “Chandigarh University encourages its students for innovating new technologies and unlocking opportunities for growth. Ever since its inception in 2012, CU students have created over 150 Start-Ups in 27 domains . Chandigarh University’s Technology Business Incubator (CU-TBI), which secured number 1 rank among all scientific research and development organizations in India by filing highest 1126 patent applications in 2023-24, is mobilising Rs 5 Crore to catalyze growth in the startup ecosystem at CU. Chandigarh University was ranked among the top 5 institutions in filing the highest number of patents in the last 5 years and secured 3rd Rank amongst private and government universities in India by filing 2581 patents in the last 3 years alone.”

Prof (Dr) TG Sitharam, Chairman, AICTE, Panneerselvam Madanagopal, said, “Through Campus Tank, we are not just launching a program, but we are launching aspirations, unlocking creativity and igniting Indias entrepreneurial spirit. The Campus Tank is an initiative by Chandigarh University that converges dreams, determination and disruptive ideas to empower innovators to create their own startups. India is witnessing an unprecedented wave of innovation and is on the path to become the innovation capital of the world. Platforms like Campus Tank will play a transformative role in bridging critical gaps between academia and industry, innovation and investment and between ideas and the impact. Through our collaborative work between AICTE and APNA as well as Chandigarh University we would be able to nurture and take the entrepreneurship ecosystem to the next level ” added the Chairman AICTE.

Dr Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, Co-Founder, Venture Catalysts said, “The purpose of the Campus Tank is that every student in the country should aspire to become an entrepreneur. Our PM Modi Ji’s vision is to create 1 million start-ups and 1,000 unicorns and we are here to support that vision. It is interesting to know that 20,000 start-up ideas have applied for the Campus Tank till now. So, we are here to support and take the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the country to next-level.”

Siddharth Anand, Associate Director, Enterprise Marketing, Apna said, “Campus Tank has registered over 20,000 young founders from 28 states and 6 union territories, with over 500 submissions received, which equates to about 95% coverage area of the country. These include 35 % women which shows inclusiveness. With initiatives like Campus Tank and the vision of Prime Minister Modi, we are building a future where India will become the second largest startup ecosystem in the world by 2047.”

Over 50 Startups from various industries which participated in the event included Nesthome (real estate), Tranquil AI and Doctorlab (HealthTech) and 256 Bits Studio and Chem0 (AI DeepTech) Project.

About Chandigarh University
Chandigarh University is a NAAC A+ Grade University and QS World Ranked University. This autonomous educational institution is approved by UGC and is located near Chandigarh in the state of Punjab. It is the youngest university in India and the only private university in Punjab to be honoured with A+ Grade by NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council). CU offers more than 109 UG and PG programs in the field of engineering, management, pharmacy, law, architecture, journalism, animation, hotel management, commerce, and others. It has been awarded as The University with Best Placements by WCRC.

Website address:www.cuchd.in.