- The Rural Press

Raipur. Kalinga University, Raipur is a well-known University in Central India that focuses on quality education and research. The University believes in the holistic development of the students and thus facilitate the students to enhance and develop practical skills, techniques, or ideas which they can use in their work or their daily lives. To make this endeavour ahead, the Kalinga University Innovation and Incubation Centre (KUIIC) organised IDEATHON Business Plan Competition 2021 to nurture creativity and hone entrepreneurial skills amongst early-stage entrepreneurs. Through IDEATHON 2021, KUIIC provided a platform for school and college students to develop their business ideas and win cash prizes and certificates.

As every auspicious occasion seeks the blessings of the lord, this event also started with the blessings of the Goddess of Wisdom by Sarasvati Vandana and lighting of the lamp. The event was marked by the eminent presence of Vice-Chancellor- Dr. R. Shridhar, Director General- Dr. Byju John, Registrar- Dr. Sandeep Gandhi, Dean Faculty of Commerce and Management- Dr. Monika Sethi, Deans and Heads of various departments, Faculty members and students. Dr. Monika Sethi Sharma, Director, KUIIC stated that IDEATHON was an open competition that was divided in two categories. In the first category, students from standard 9th to 12th participated and in the second category university students and research scholars participated. Many students and research scholars from various schools and universities across the country participated in the event. Around 40 teams registered for the event and KUIIC facilitated the students to adopt entrepreneurial endeavours to develop their innovation, adhering to high ethical standards.

IDEATHON Business Plan Competition 2021 provided a platform to the students for starting a new business by developing a thorough written business plan for a new product or service. A business plan is an important step towards starting a new venture, as it allows entrepreneurs to analyse how their company will operate and brings together many areas of the business environment. By participating in this competition, students gained experience by identifying business opportunities, developing a business model and writing a formal business plan. The students submitted their plans after performing market research and feasibility analysis using primary and/or secondary data. This mega event was sponsored by Jaiswal NECO Industries Ltd., Analytical Technologies Ltd., Steel Mint, Galaxy- The Computer Hub, Shrishti Nursery Landscape and Design, Raj Builders and Contractors, Concept and Construction, SS Rana Fabricators, AKGS and Associates, Rajesh Publicity, Mahesh Industries and KGN Ali. IDEATHON 2021 was an activity that would definitely motivate, build and promote out of box thinking, development of innovative ideas among students of the University. It would also help to build an environment that will facilitate the creation of social enterprise knowledge through research and empower students to apply their entrepreneurship abilities to develop solutions for greater social impact through academia.

In this business plan competition, in the first category, Md. Aaquib Khatibi from Sri Sankara Vidyalaya, Bhilai got the first position and received prize money of Rs. 25,000. Yash Raj Sahu from National Institute of Open Schooling, Noida bagged the second position and received prize money of Rs. 15,000/-. Mr. Shubham Agrawal from and Prajjwal Chandak from Don Bosco School, West Bengal were the second runner up and received prize money of Rs. 10,000/-. There was a tie in the position of third runner up team between Rishi Ahuja and the team from St. Francis de Sales School, New Delhi and Anisha Atlani and the team from N.H.Goel World School, Raipur. The third runner up team received prize money of Rs. 5000/-

In this business plan competition, in the second category, Krishna Khakolia and Shashwat Methi from IIT Guwahati, got the first position and received prize money of Rs. 25,000. Prachi Karn from SIBM Pune, bagged the second position and received prize money of Rs. 15,000/-. The was a tie in the position of second runner up team between Aadarsh Bansal from Goa Institute of Management, Goa and Prateek Kolluru, Shubham Choubey and Ms. Neha Choubey from Kalinga University, Naya Raipur. The second runner up team received prize money of 10,000/-. Mr. Ashish Srinivas and Ms. Pooja P. from National Institute of Engineering, Mysore were the third runner up and received prize money of Rs. 5,000/-.