Opportunity brief
About the Competition:
As part of Antaragni '26, the flagship annual festival of IIT Kanpur, and proudly Powered by the Mukhyamantri Yuva Udyami Vikas Abhiyan (CM YUVA Udyami Yojana), Government of Uttar Pradesh, we bring you the ultimate startup pitch and venture creation challenge!
Designed to ignite the entrepreneurial spirit among youth, this competition provides aspiring founders a national platform to showcase scalable business models, grassroot innovations, and disruptive tech startups in front of top industry leaders, policymakers, and investors.
About CM YUVA Udyami Yojana: An ambitious initiative by the Government of Uttar Pradesh to foster youth entrepreneurship, empower young innovators with financial and institutional backing, and transform job-seekers into job-creators across the state and beyond.
Competition Structure & Timeline:
Round 1: Startup Idea & Pitch Deck Submission (16th Oct – 22nd Oct 2026) Registered teams must submit a crisp 6–8 slide Pitch Deck (PDF format) covering:
- Problem Statement & Grassroot/Market Need
- Proposed Solution / Product Innovation
- Target Market & Opportunity Size (TAM/SAM/SOM)
- Revenue Model & Unit Economics
- Go-to-Market Strategy, Scalability & Social/Economic Impact
Round 1 Results Announcement (24th Oct 2026) Top entries will be shortlisted for the offline Grand Finale at the IIT Kanpur campus.
- Finalist Confirmation & Campus Registration (24th Oct – 26th Oct 2026) Shortlisted teams must confirm their offline attendance and complete their Antaragni campus/hospitality registration within this window. (Note: Unconfirmed slots after 26th Oct, 11:59 PM will be passed to waitlisted teams). - Round 2: Grand Finale Pitch @ Antaragni, IIT Kanpur Finalists will pitch live on the IIT Kanpur campus during Antaragni (8-minute presentation + 4-minute Q&A) before an esteemed jury panel.
Eligibility & Guidelines:
- Open to undergraduate and postgraduate students, and young aspiring entrepreneurs across India.
- Team Size: 1 to 4 members (Cross-college and multidisciplinary teams are welcome).
- Ideas across all domains—including Tech, MSME/Manufacturing, AgriTech, FinTech, Sustainability, Healthcare, and D2C/Service sectors—are eligible.
- Plagiarism or misrepresentation of data will result in immediate disqualification.