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Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India Reports 136 Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India Reports 136

NEP 2020 Fuels India’s Entrepreneurship PG Corner

Education Shift As appeared in Business World Online
December 26, 2025 EDII Unveils Exilio 2026 on

National Startup Day

On January 16, 2026, EDII observed the National Startup Day by unveiling Exilio 2026,
which is a pre-event to the annual entrepreneurship summit, Empresario. This event
marked the commencement of EDII's student-led startup engagements and the Institute's
focus towards establishing a robust and thriving startup culture.

Dr. Sunil Shukla
Director General, EDII

On the fronts of education and skill training, the year 2025 witnessed significant alignment
with New Education Policy 2020 which emphasises on applied learning, thus encouraging
and strengthening skill-based education among young learners.

NEP 2020’s emphasis on promoting skill & competency-based education, endorses the
vital role that entrepreneurship focused initiatives could have on the country’s economic
growth, job creation and innovation quotient. The Policy has ushered in a transformation
in pedagogical approaches, integrating hands-on experiences, mentorship and incubation
programmes in the curriculum. The redefined academic framework seeks to empower
students to adopt flexibility, break the silos of conventional academic disciplines and The programme was graced by (2nd from R) Shri Annu Tyagi, Senior Divisional Commercial
explore to imbibe real-time skills and traits. Well, these are the mandates that a well- Manager- Ahmedabad Division, Western Railway, Government of India; (Right) Shri
structured, application-oriented entrepreneurship course targets and hence Shoukat Hussain, Young Professional, Ministry of MSME, Government of India; (Left)Dr.
entrepreneurship as a discipline needs to be mainstreamed. With adequate exposure to Kaushik Choudhury, Chief Executive Officer, Plasmatech Innovation Foundation and (2nd
the real-world & market situations, an entrepreneurship course provides a result-oriented from L) Dr. Sunil Shukla, Director General, EDII.
learning platform.

Shri Annu Tyagi, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager -
To foster this change, universities will have to actively take the onus of innovating and
Ahmedabad Division, Western Railway, Government of India,
evolving into multidisciplinary centres, nurturing diverse entrepreneurial paths for holistic
remarked, “Large public sector institutions are increasingly
development of students. Entrepreneurship orientation for students, in their formative engaging with startups to address operational and sectoral
years, through well thought out short duration programmes, idea competitions, pitch
challenges through relevant innovations. Such collaborations
sessions or such other initiatives, could redesign the canvas of achievements.
open new avenues for startups to pilot solutions, create value
and contribute meaningfully to traditional industries.”
The year 2025 was encouraging. A striking process of mindset change could be noticed,
but we still have not come a full circle. Although, if we focus on the positives, it can well be
Shri Shoukat Hussain, Young Professional, Ministry of MSME,
seen that the year recorded an archetypical shift in the field of entrepreneurship Government of India, said, “Strong policy frameworks and well-
education – widespread acceptance and fostering of job-creating mindsets among
designed government initiatives play a crucial role in enabling
students and the society at large, were the highlights. I am sure this trend will gain technology-led startups to scale sustainably. When policy
momentum in 2026 and beyond, with a strong cohort of innovative thinkers inclined support aligns with innovation, it creates an ecosystem where
towards creating sustainable enterprises and committed towards contributing to the ideas can be translated into viable and impactful enterprises.”
country’s GDP, employment and market capitalisation.

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