The Delhi government on Tuesday launched the senior edition of its flagship Business Blasters programme, expanding the initiative from school students to students of colleges and state-funded universities.
Launched as a pilot in government schools in 2021, the program aims to boost entrepreneurship by providing participants with seed funding and a platform to implement their business ideas.
Speaking at the inaugural function held at Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Chief Minister Atishi said, “The Business Blasters program has shattered stereotypes about government school students and showcased their confident risk-taking ability.”
The school-level initiative to provide seed capital of Rs.2000 to students studying in classes 11 and 12 has now prepared to provide seed capital of Rs.50,000 for college students.
“We will provide Rs 50,000 seed money to college students participating in this programme… We want to see many of you on the front page of the magazine as successful entrepreneurs who have launched successful companies from the experience gained from this programme,” Atishi said. .
Atishi highlighted the success of the scheme in schools where some participants have gone on to register private limited companies. “We hope to see many of you on the front pages of newspapers and trade magazines as successful entrepreneurs,” he added.
“Why business blasters in colleges? The dream started when we looked at the biggest, best-paying companies in the world with cutting-edge products, many of them, all over the world, full of Indians in the tech world… Not just in technology, but in companies like Chanel, a perfume company is also Indian. The woman is led by Leena Nair, she added.
“Education and entrepreneurship are the biggest tools for women empowerment,” Atishi emphasized.
Addressing the assembled students, he reflected on taking risks and perpetuating rote learning to discourage systemic barriers. “Despite India’s immense talent, we are still a developing country. Fear of failure has led our talented youth to focus on exams like the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) instead of looking for new ventures,” said Atishi.
The event also featured a panel discussion of three young entrepreneurs who started their businesses with seed money provided by the program.
Earlier this year, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal, who was the chief minister at the time, announced that the Delhi government would allocate funds in the budget to extend the Business Blasters program to colleges in Delhi.
Tuesday’s event also featured remarks by IIIT Delhi director Ranjan Bose, who described the event as a step towards nurturing entrepreneurial talent. “This initiative builds on the success of the school-level program and provides an ecosystem to harness the energy of our youth to create cutting-edge businesses,” said Bose.