Raebareli: More than 500 students participated in the inaugural edition of ‘UP RISE: Samvad, Sankalp, Safalta’ at Feroze Gandhi Institute of Engineering and Technology in Raebareli, highlighting the growing entrepreneurial ambitions of Uttar Pradesh’s youth. The programme focused on encouraging students to move beyond conventional job-seeking and explore entrepreneurship and job creation.
The event was organised as part of efforts to promote the vision of an Aatmanirbhar Uttar Pradesh, with discussions centred on the state’s expanding startup ecosystem, emerging technologies and government schemes designed to support young entrepreneurs.
Global Taxpayers Trust Chairman and GST Grievance Redressal Committee member Manish Khemka addressed the students and outlined the opportunities available through Uttar Pradesh’s startup ecosystem. He said the state has one of the world’s largest young workforces and that its demographic strength can become a major economic advantage.
Khemka said the number of registered startups in Uttar Pradesh has increased from around 120 before 2017 to more than 24,000 today. He also highlighted the growing participation of women, saying women lead around half of the state’s startups. According to him, Uttar Pradesh has also produced eight unicorn startups.
He said the UP Startup Policy 2026 has created additional avenues for young entrepreneurs, including a monthly sustenance allowance of up to ₹20,000, prototype grants of up to ₹10 lakh and seed capital support of up to ₹15 lakh.
The state has also removed more than 4,675 outdated rules and compliance requirements across 65 departments to improve the ease of doing business, Khemka said. He added that the number of factories in Uttar Pradesh has increased from around 14,000 to more than 31,000.
AI consultant, technical architect and mobility expert Lata Rastogi and Manish Nath introduced students to emerging artificial intelligence technologies and new startup opportunities. They also explained various government schemes aimed at supporting entrepreneurship and encouraged students to make use of the available assistance.
12 Startup Ideas Shortlisted
The programme provided detailed information about schemes including the Mukhyamantri Yuva Udyami Yojana, Mukhyamantri Swarozgar Yojana and initiatives linked to women’s empowerment.
A total of 12 startup ideas were shortlisted during the event. The selected concepts included Krishi Scan, Vyapar Setu, Smart Care, Jal Risav Nivaran, Lab Setu and Mobile Collaborative Robot, among others.
Navneet Yadav and Team Mobile Collaborative Robot won the award for the best presentation and received a cash prize of ₹25,000. Runner-up Rishabh Srivastava, Shozab Rizvi and Team Lab Setu were also recognised for their presentation.
The organisers said the UP RISE programme will be conducted across 25 cities and 30 leading colleges in Uttar Pradesh. The initiative aims to provide talented students with direct access to internship and employment opportunities with major companies while creating a stronger bridge between campuses, industry and the state’s emerging startup ecosystem.
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