New Delhi: The Grand Finale of India’s largest entrepreneurship competition for school students, School Youth Ideathon 2025on January 18, 2026 at IIT Delhi, marked a spectacular culmination of India’s largest K–12 innovation and entrepreneurship challenge for school students. The finale brought together the top 125 teams selected from over 102,000 participating teams nationwide, following a rigorous multi-round review process designed to identify the most impactful and creative ideas.
Organised by ThinkStartup and Management Entrepreneurship Professional Skills Council (MEPSC) in association with Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE), SYI 2025, guided by the theme “Nayi Soch Naya Bharat,” provided students from Classes 4 to 12 with a platform to transform their entrepreneurial ideas into real-world solutions. The event was honoured by the presence of Prof. Vivek Buwa, Deputy Director, IIT Delhi, Gen. A.K Bhatt, Director General, ISpA, Mr. Ramakrishna P., CEO of Indian Mobile Congress, Mr. Sunil Bajpayee, CTO of Tanla Platforms, Mr. Nitin Seth, CEO of Incedo and several prominent angel investors from startup ecosystem.
The Grand Incubation Grant Winners Include:
* Campus Capitalists from Indraprastha International School (Delhi)
* Posture Easers from Dabari Lal DAV School (Pitampura Delhi)
* Signal Surge from Amity International School (Sector 46 Gurugram)
* The Playful Monks from Anand Vidya Vihar (Vadodara, Gujarat)
* Symbiogrid from Cambridge Court High School, Jaipur
* Tekademy from The Samitha Academy (Bangalore)
* RoomDesi from Sai International School (Bhuwaneshwar)
* Optyx from Jayshree Periwal Global School (Jaipur)
“Today’s young innovators embody the spirit of a bold, self-reliant, and creative India. Their ideas show that with the right support and encouragement, students can tackle real societal challenges and contribute meaningfully to nation-building,” said Dr. Biswajit Saha, Director (Skill Education), CBSE, at the closing ceremony.
The Theme Prize Winners include:
– Young Bharat Builders: Shri Satya Sai Nidhya Niketan (Begapalli – Karnataka)
* Smart Mobility for All: EFA Govt. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose (Seoni, Madhya Pradesh)
* Health at Home: Amity International School (Mayur Vihar, New Delhi)
* Make for the Planet: Reliance Foundation EM School (Nagothane)
* Glory of India: Kola Saraswat Vaishnav School (Chennai)
* Future of Learning: CS Academy (Coimbatore)
Team Mindmaze from Pushplata Vidya Mandir, Tirunelveli, wins special award in the female category during School Youth Ideathon by SheAtWork, a one-stop knowledge hub for women entrepreneurs.
“The scale and quality of ideas we witnessed today are nothing short of extraordinary. These students are not just thinkers but doers, ready to shape the future with ingenuity and purpose,” said Col. Anil Pokhriyal, CEO of MEPSC.
Shivani Singh Kapoor, Founder, ThinkStartup Foundation said, “SYI 2025 has shown how powerful school-led innovation can be when students get the right platform and mentorship. The grand finale at IIT Delhi is a proud moment for every participant, teacher and school championing ‘Nayi Soch Naya Bharat’.”
Supporting the ceremony, Uday Reddy, Founder & CEO, Tanla Platforms said, “Innovation is the key to solving challenges at scale. This platform enables young minds to think creatively and make real-world impact.”
Honouring the contributions of educators, the event also presented Teacher Excellence Awards to those who guided finalists through the competition with passion and perseverance.
“Encouraging an entrepreneurial mindset in schools is about empowering students to think boldly and act fearlessly. In this Ideathon we piloted Entrepreneurship Quotient test to measure the state of entrepreneurialism amongst young students and schools. We want more schools to join the bandwagon” remarked Sanjeeva Shivesh, Program Director, SYI 2025
The finale featured mentorship sessions, networking opportunities with industry leaders, and engagement with IIT Delhi faculty, who underscored the importance of sustained support for young innovators.
A record-breaking 1.02 lakh teams from over 10000 schools participated in the competition, showcasing a wide range of creative solutions. After a rigorous selection process, 2000 teams advanced to present their ideas through video pitches from where 500 teams were interviewed to shortlist the 125 teams who were invited for the finale.
