Archive · 25 Sep 2026
Joshi Urges Startups to Mentor Young Innovators and Scale Ideas
Pralhad Joshi asked successful startup founders to help young innovators.
He spoke at an innovation challenge in Bengaluru.
He said good ideas should receive advice even after the competition ends.
The goal is to turn ideas into useful products, not just award prize money.
He said innovators should solve everyday problems for people such as farmers and workers.
Joshi also said India now has many more startups than it did in 2014.
He suggested keeping promising ideas in an online national repository.
He said young people will be important to India’s future.
Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi urged established startups and industry partners to mentor participants in the Seva First Innovation Challenge.
Joshi said the government and Indian Institute of Science would continue supporting promising ideas beyond the competition.
He said innovation should address problems faced by ordinary people, especially farmers, labourers and economically disadvantaged communities.
India’s startup count has risen from about 360 in 2014 to around 2.4 lakh, Joshi said.
Joshi proposed a national repository for promising ideas and highlighted India’s improved innovation ranking and patent filings.
- Who
- Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi, startup founders, industry partners and young innovators.
- What
- Joshi urged established startups and industry to mentor young innovators and help develop their ideas into scalable products.
- When
- Friday; the articles do not provide a specific date.
- Where
- The Seva First Innovation Challenge at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru.
- Why
- To support promising ideas, address problems faced by ordinary people and help innovations reach larger-scale implementation.
- Speaker
- Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi
- Initiative
- Seva First Innovation Challenge
- Venue
- Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
- Startup growth
- From about 360 startups in 2014 to around 2.4 lakh currently, according to Joshi
- Innovation ranking
- India’s Global Innovation Index ranking improved from 81 in 2015 to 38 currently, according to Joshi
- Patent filings
- More than one lakh patents were filed in the last 10 years, compared with about 4,200 in 2013-14, according to Joshi
- Proposed support
- A national repository on the challenge website for future mentoring and large-scale adoption