The 4th edition of the ‘Youth Ideathon 2024,’ India’s largest entrepreneurship competition for school students, that brought together over 1.8 lakh young innovators from more than 5,000 schools across India, has culminated at a gala showcase of innovation from the Top 100 teen innovators at IIT Delhi.
Organised by ThinkStartup and Management Entrepreneurship Professional Skills Council (MEPSC) in association with Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) and IIT Delhi, Youth Ideathon is India’s biggest innovation and entrepreneurship competition designed specifically for school students from Classes 4-12. The event was honoured by the presence of Prof. Narayanan D Kurur, Dean (Academics) at IIT Delhi; R K Singh, CGM, SIDBI; Lt. Gen. A K Bhatt (Retd.), DG, ISpA; Sameep Shastri, Vice Chairman, BRICS CCI; Anku Jain, MD, MediaTek India; Agendra Kumar, MD, ESRI India; ?Dr Sanjay Gupta, VC, World University of Design; Rashmi Gupta, CAO, ESRI India; Ruby Sinha, Founder, SheAtWork. The Jury members included Dr Anurag Batra, Chairman, Businessworld; ?Ashish Taneja, Managing Partner, GrowX; ?Nitin Agarwal, Founder, Global Bees, a Unicorn; ?Dr. Nikhil Agarwal, MD, FITT incubator at IIT Delhi; Ganesh Sahai, CTO, Nagarro.
The Top 6 teams selected for the INR 1 lakh per idea incubation grant are as follows:
- Vidyashilp Academy, NIRI a water conservation business
- ?Sanskriti School, PadhAI, an affordable AI based multilingual affordable learning platform
- ?Lilawati Sr Sec School, New Delhi, an affordable clean air chimney solution for MSME
- ODM Public School, Bhubaneswar, Project Skymist, generates water from atmosphere on the concept of Peltier effect
- Army Public School, Kolkata, AI based homework checking and assessment solution
- ??Aditya Vidyashram Residential School, Puducherry, all in one solar powered car for agriculture
The event also featured innovative social experiments, such as collaboration with The Kid Company, where school students could list, sell, and raise investments for their ideas, fostering real-world business experience. The Top 100 teams got engaged into real entrepreneurship by selling their innovation and getting crowd funding of INR 40 lakh on The Kid Company platform.
Anil Pokhriyal, CEO, Management & Entrepreneurship and Professional Skills Council, emphasized the importance of nurturing entrepreneurial skills early on, “Youth Ideathon 2024 has proven that India’s school students are brimming with ideas and potential. Our role is to provide them with the right tools and opportunities to turn their ideas into reality. This competition is not just about innovation; it’s about building a stronger, self-reliant India driven by young entrepreneurs.”
Anku Jain, Managing Director, MediaTek, said “The Ideathon gives students the chance to experience the full journey of entrepreneurship, including ideation, pitching, prototyping, and even marketing their products at the expo. This holistic approach prepares them for future success.”
Shivani Singh-Kapoor, Co-founder, ThinkStartup, shared her thoughts on the event’s impact,”Youth Ideathon continues to be a platform that not only promotes entrepreneurial thinking but also brings out the creativity and resourcefulness of students across India. With over 2 lakh participants this year, the response is overwhelming and confirms the hunger for innovation in our young generation.”
Sanjeeva Shivesh, Program Director, Youth Ideathon, reflected on the journey of the participants, “One of the best things about this platform is that as a competition there are many people who support us. At the top are PSEs, and then there is CBSE. And this year, IIT Delhi has vigorously agreed to the collaboration. More than 100 IIT PhD scholars are involved in the evaluation and assessment process of Youth Ideathon.”
The competition, spread across five stages, welcomed entries from students in two categories– Junior (Class 4 to Class 8) and Senior (Class 9 to Class 12). A record-breaking 1.8 lakh students from over 5000 schools actively participated in the competition. More than 53,000 teams submitted their initial entries, showcasing a wide range of creative solutions. After a rigorous selection process, 1500 teams advanced to present their ideas through video pitches, and 500 teams were awarded Rs. 1000 each to develop prototypes and showcase their projects.
The IIT Delhi Outreach Office was instrumental in facilitating and coordinating the event. The dedicated efforts created an enriching experience for all participants, reinforcing IIT Delhi’s commitment to fostering young talent and innovation. Mahindra University also motivated young budding entrepreneurs by announcing a one-week virtual incubation session for selected teams in June 2025. Special recognition was given to teachers, mentors, and schools that supported and encouraged participation. The Youth Ideathon 2024 is supported by industry partners like Esri India, MediaTek and SheAtWork.
