The second ‘Ideathon – Samridh Gaon pratiyogita 2023’ for grassroots innovators was organized by ACIC RISE association, CGC Landran in association with Punjab State Council for Science and Technology (PSCST) and Startup Punjab. The annual event consisted of activities including panel discussion and idea pitching.
More than 30 ideas were presented by rural entrepreneurs in agriculture, organic farming and food manufacturing, handicrafts & handmade accessories, food production and processing, among others; these ideas were judged on the basis of their economic viability and benefits for the rural community.
Jasveer Singh’s idea revolving around a farm seeder was adjudged the winner of the first prize of Rs. 20,000. The second prize of Rs 15,000 was conferred upon Pawandeep Chaudhary and her team of students who invented an indigenous technique to manufacture paper from waste.
The third prize of Rs 10,000 was won by Daljeet Kaur led women’s self help group from a village in Mohali for making unique organic food products. The prize money was sponsored by Startup Punjab.
Dignitaries present on the occasion included Dr. Deepak Kumar, Senior Scientist, PSCST, Dr Harbinder Singh, Professor, Associate Dean Research & CEO, ACIC RISE, CGC Landran, CGC Landran, entrepreneur Harmeet Brar, Alumnus of CGC Landran and Founder of organic cow’s milk brand Ransav, Mr Amarjot Singh Dhanoa, Chairperson Punjab Junction farm Producer company, Mrs. Deepika Sindwani , Mr. Rajinder Mohan Kashyap, Founder Solar Aashram, S. Parwinder Singh, Director Dynamic Entrepreneur Community among others.
The panel discussion conducted at the event saw the experts share insights on building effective local startup ecosystem for farmers and underprivileged segments of the society by focusing on strengthening branding and marketing issues of their products.
Atal Community Innovation Centre (ACIC) RISE, CGC Landran, supported by AIM, NITI Aayog (Govt. of India), aims to foster innovation and entrepreneurship culture in semi-urban and rural India by encouraging and supporting startups ideated by entrepreneurs in the semi-urban and rural areas.