Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Innovation and entrepreneurial fervour took centre stage at the School of Commerce, Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, as it successfully hosted the grand 'Udyam Udaan 2026' startup pitch event on Sep 19, 2026.
Out of 60 student teams across various university departments, 15 elite finalists battled it out before an expert jury.
The spotlight firmly landed on the top three consumer and tech-driven concepts that mirror modern market solutions. BagBNB from IMS claimed first place with a sliding-scale rental model for trolleys and cabin bags, easing economic hurdles for occasional travellers.
Ankura from the School of Economics took second place, introducing pre-loaded growth plant pods to make home gardening effortless and low-maintenance.
Meanwhile, Sentinel AI from IMS secured third place by fusing artificial intelligence with surveillance architecture to proactively detect pre-suspicious behavioural patterns.
Inaugurating the event, Vice-Chancellor Prof Rakesh Singhai urged students to anchor their research in ground-level realities to build viable commercial enterprises.
Head of the department Prof Suresh Patidar encouraged youth to look up to visionaries like Seth Walchand Hirachand and Dhirubhai Ambani, shifting mindsets from job seekers to job creators.
MSME DFO Gaurav Goyal and Indian Bank's Anshul Agarwal delivered keynote insights on government schemes, cash burn, and export-driven enterprises.
The real breakthrough came when the expert jury, featuring CA Harshwardhan Barve, CMA Sudeep Saxena, CS Palash Jain, CA & CS Rohit Khandelwal, and CS Dhairya Jain, concluded their evaluations based on innovation and social impact.
Very Next Venture's CS Dhairya Jain extended a massive potential financial backing of up to 50 lakh to the top three startups.
