What is Delhi govt's Business Blasters programme? Sisodia explains

Delhi govt school students get own TV show, to pitch business ideas to potential investors

As part of its Business Blasters initiative, the Delhi government Sunday launched a TV show for students from classes 11 and 12 to help attract large investments for promoting their start-ups built using Rs 2,000 seed money. The programme, a part of the government’s Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum, started in September. Manish Sisodia, deputy chief minister who also holds the portfolio of education, speaks to Akshara Srivastava about the programme, some interesting ideas by the students, and what’s in store for these young entrepreneurs.

1. How many students have been selected for the programme?

Almost three lakh students are participating in Business Blasters. They have formed about 51,000 teams across 1,000 schools. For the eight televised events, 24 teams have been selected who have shown potential in early stages and need more capital. They will be pitching their ideas to a panel of investors for funding.

From the rest of the 51,000 teams, top 100 will get an opportunity to participate in an expo style exhibition, which will be a platform for them to meet entrepreneurs and investors from across industries.

The top 10 teams will get an opportunity to raise more capital from investors and get direct admission in BBA courses in universities such as the Delhi Technological University, IGDTUW, NSUT etc. 

2. How much money has been allocated for the same?

An amount of Rs 60 crore has been allocated for the whole programme, while each participating student has been given Rs 2,000. A pilot was carried out in School of Excellence, Khichripur in February 2021. The programme was finally launched on a large scale on September 7, 2021.

3. On what basis were the students been shortlisted?

The programme is for students for grades 11 and 12. They have to form teams, think of a business idea and then make a presentation for their classmates and teachers. The classmates ask questions and give feedback. The teacher marks students on three simple criterion with a yes or a no. Teams with ‘yes’ for all three questions and a no objection certificate from guardians are eligible for seed money.

4. Tell us about some projects.

There are several projects where students displayed exemplary entrepreneurial skills and earned profits in a very short span of time. A project known as ‘Divine Creations’ involved the sale of handmade cultural paintings such as Madhubani paintings and took to selling them online. The project used social media for mass marketing and targeted outreach of their paintings. It ended up earning a profit of approximately Rs  30,000, the highest for any project chosen under the initiative.

Abhishek’s Tap and Draw project seemed equally enticing. He and his team made beautiful portraits and drawings; marketed them well even using his own YouTube channel and managed to sell many of their creations during the lockdown. Then there is Surya who mobilised his team into assembling a Bluetooth speaker inside a customised wooden box. It was way cheaper than the one available in the market and they managed to sell many of them. And, the list of such enterprising students goes on and on.

5. Are there any specific kinds of projects that will be encouraged more than others?

We are encouraging students to be innovative, and work on projects that address a need or a problem around them. We want them to work on projects that are useful and have a potential to grow.

6. What kind of resources and guidance are available to these students?

The Business Blasters initiative encourages students to work in teams, come up with innovative business ideas and incentivises students to develop them appropriately.

For instance, in the pilot carried out in School of Excellence, Khichripur, the students were mentored by the students from the Delhi Technological University. Similarly, for the ongoing programme across the approximately 1,000 schools, we have assigned business coaches to as many as possible and are encouraging schools to onboard local entrepreneurs from their neighbourhoods who can guide the students.

We are also in the process of onboarding 1,000 business coaches which include entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, home-grown business owners, consultants and subject matter experts who will be coaching the teams that progress to the next round and help them with knowledge needed to take their ideas to the next level.