The competition was expected to serve as a platform where students from different higher education institutes (HEIs) would come together to discuss their ideas for innovative start-up ventures.

The Inaugural Session started with the Welcome Address by Dr.VidyaSekhri, Director Management and President, IIC. Dr Sekhri extended a warm welcome to the honourable Chief Guest of the session, Mr.Sant Kumar Gautam, CEO UDYAM, Guests of Honour Dr. Sanjeev Layek, Executive Secretary, World Association For Small and Medium Enterprises(WASME) andMr.Vishal Gandhi, Managing partner & CEO BIORx Venture Advisors Pvt Ltd. During the course of the address, Dr.Sekhrifocused on why start-up culture was necessary. She pointed out that it was a passion, and had to come from a certain mindset.

Dr. Indraneel Mandal, Coordinator (Startups), IIC I.T.S, provided an overview of the day’s event. He explained that the function was being held under the aegis of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD); the latter had started on a mission of setting up Institution Innovation Councils(IICs)in select HEIs for nurturing ideas from young minds. He also spoke of the support from the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).

It was now the turn of the Guests of Honour Dr. Sanjeev Layek began by thanking Director Management and ITS for initiating this type of competition which would help to give a new dimension to the start-up world. He referred to three things to be kept in mind, viz., research, data collection and society. He also threw some light on the three verticals of business – credit, technology and markets. Finally he reminded of the need for passion and a never say die attitude for succeeding in the world of start-ups.

Mr Vishal Gandhi then come forward for an engrossing speech where he constantly interacted with the students in the audience while delineating the salient aspects that determined the success of business endeavours, including capital budgeting, lack of proper management, the difficulty of ascertaining appropriate market size and dynamics.

Finally it was the turn of the Chief Guest Mr S.K. Gautam, who started by saying that every day is a new learning He drew attention to the fact that there were abundant opportunities in a country like India. He cautioned that while marketing research is very important, it often fails due to loopholes in data collection. He suggested that it was necessary to have a good team with diverse experts.

The session ended with Dr.Vidya Sekhri presenting a memento to Mr.Gautam as a token of appreciation.

After the Inaugural Session, business plan presentations took place in two sessions. The first session had Dr. Sanjeev Layek, Mr. Vishal Gandhi and Mr. Sant Kumar Gautam as external judges. Dr. K. K. Dey was present as the internal judge.

Khushboo and Shikha, who were the anchors for the session, welcomed the judges and described the rules to the participants and to the audience. With that the students who were present there from the different colleges started their presentations in their series.

NIT, Greater Noida, flagged off the competition with their presentation on Virtual Villa, an application that brought together imagination and software expertise for visualising homes before starting work on their construction. They were followed by ShyamLal College with their business plan on Brand Deviser for helping entrepreneurs by guiding them to develop businesses and a new market for fashion designers; a team from ITS Mohan Nagar with Luxurious Footpath, offering a means for aggregating street food vendors at one outdoor location; a team from IMS, Ghaziabad with Nimble Beverages, providing the option of an instant food mix for a healthy breakfast; and a second team from IMS, Ghaziabad, whose presentation was on Third- Eye Solutions, involving smart canes for the visually impaired.

The post lunch session started with the felicitation of Dr. Sanjeev Layek by Dr. Vidya Sekhri. The presentations in this session featured a second team from Shyam Lal College with the idea of Paryojya, focusing on the handicrafts sector with a touch of sustainability; Jaipuria School of Business with the innovative concept of 56 Bhog, a women driven food delivery initiative; a team from ITS Mohan Nagar speaking on ISE  - The Power of Nature, with a low cost mission for providing green power in rural areas; HIET College with Take spoon, the edible but healthy spoon that could be ecofriendly as well as cost effective; and finally, another team from ITS with Aaha Re, a unique way of satisfying taste buds longing for authentic Bengali food.

Following the presentations Mr. Gautamand Mr. Gandhiappreciated and congratulated all the participants for their efforts and gave tips to all the students on the startups and their business plans. With that all the judges along with Dr. Vidya Sekhri were invited on the stage for declaration of the result and prize distribution.

1st Prize was won byAnkit Meghmala & Vikash Kumar (I.T.S Mohan Nagar). Hema & Team from Shyamlal College were declared First Runner Up. Harsh & Team, also from Shyamlal College, took the 2nd Runner Up position. The prizes and certificates were handed out by the dignitaries onstage.

Dr.Sekhri also felicitated Mr Gandhi for his gracious presence throughout the day’s programme.

In the end Dr. Puneet Kumardeliveredthe Vote Of Thanks on the behalf of IIC ITS.

The participants went home ruminating on the valuable advice from the dignitaries present. The students in general also marveled at the variety of ideas and presentations, inspired with some thoughts of their own.