The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) conducted an ‘Academic Leadership Programme’, supported by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India, from 1^st to 5^th December 2025, at the Institute campus. The ALP incorporated sessions on various aspects of leadership, personal and institutional vision building, strategy, digital transformation, legal and sustainable integration, stakeholder management, decision-making, and constraint management. The Programme Directors were Dr. Rishikesha T Krishnan, Professor In-charge, New Campus, and faculty of the Strategy area, and Dr. Sushanta Kumar Mishra, Chairperson, Centre for Teaching & Learning, and faculty of the Organizational Behavior & Human Resources Management area.

The 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝗘 at NSRCEL recently hosted 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 in collaboration with IvyCap Ventures, giving founders a clear and grounded view of what it takes to become investment ready in today’s fast-moving fintech ecosystem.

At this event, Vinod Kalkotwar, Founder and President of Kalozal Consultants Pvt. Ltd., shared how India Stack, digital-native consumers and shifting investment cycles are reshaping fintech. He highlighted where capital is moving today, from embedded finance and compliance tech – to open banking and green finance.

The session was followed by networking, bringing together founders, investors and ecosystem enablers to exchange ideas and build meaningful connections.

The 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝗘 is an initiative by the Government of Karnataka, in partnership with NSRCEL, supported by HDFC Bank Parivartan.

The Fintech CoE drives multi-stakeholder innovation partnerships defining the future of finance and technology. It also has an exclusive community for fintech start-ups.

With powerful ideas, deep commitment and a drive to scale, NSRCEL celebrated Cohort 1 of the GS10K Women Program, a group of 61 women entrepreneurs building across India.

Representing 14 sectors including FMCG, Healthcare, IT & BPM, Food & Beverages, e-Commerce, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Tourism & Hospitality, and more, this cohort reflects the true diversity of India’s entrepreneurial landscape.

With founders joining from 12 states, from Namakkal to Guwahati and Dehradun to Hyderabad, these ventures showcase a strong pan-India footprint and the growing force of women-led innovation.

Throughout the cohort, these entrepreneurs sharpened their business skills, built meaningful connections, and worked towards scaling with clarity and confidence.

𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘀 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀, a GPS Fellows Initiative, one by GPS Renewables in partnership with NSRCEL, recently hosted a 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽 for 𝗖𝗼𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝟰, bringing together a driven group of student founders who are shaping their first ideas into meaningful ventures.

The bootcamp hosted sessions on Effectuation with Dr. Sai Chittaranjan Kalubandi, faculty of the Strategy area, IIMB; Early Stage Investment Parlance by Harnidh K., Author, Ex-WTFund, and Team Building for Early Stage with Ranhita Bordoloi, Senior Manager, People & Culture, Blume Ventures. Varun Agarwal, Co-founder, Alma Mater Store, shared candid insights on building culture when your team is young and your identity is still taking shape.

Participants also connected with students of IIM’s two-year fulltime MBA programme: Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) for an interactive exchange of ideas, followed by networking. The cohort displayed curiosity, clarity and potential.

NSRCEL hosted a three-day bootcamp for Cohort 29 of Launchpad, the idea stage incubation program at NSRCEL.

The bootcamp opened with a Know Your Customer workshop led by Ashank Bhandari, Product Leader and Facilitator, guiding founders to think deeply about user needs and behavior. This was followed by an introduction to the Launchpad framework and a session by Anand Sri Ganesh, CEO, NSRCEL, on how founders can draw strength from community and shared experiences.

Day Two featured a masterclass on value propositions by Prof. Sachidananda Benegal, Mentor and Adjunct Faculty, IIM Bangalore, followed by a talk on operational grit and customer obsession being essential elements of building early ventures, by Manish Sharma, Co-founder and CEO, Printo.

The final day included peer presentations, reflections and structured next steps, enabling early stage founders to connect insights from the sessions back to their own ideas and journeys.

The bootcamp created space for thoughtful learning, active dialogue and meaningful exchange, encouraging idea stage founders to move forward with clarity and confidence.

As part of the Kotak BizLabs Accelerator Program, a CSR initiative by Kotak Mahindra Bank in partnership with NSRCEL, a closed-room session was held in Mumbai where founders dived into real cases, real challenges and real actions that drive momentum.

The panelists included Rohit Pareek, CFO & Head – Corporate Development, GOQii and Pratim Pathak, Founder, Build.Club, who discussed the ‘how’ behind investor outreach, pitch readiness and early GTM moves, which threw light on what to prepare, what to avoid, and how to show up with clarity in front of investors.

The founders had the opportunity to clarify critical questions around customer acquisition, sales cycles, investor expectations and fundraising pathways, making the discussion deeply grounded in day-to-day realities.

Overall, it was a session packed with candid conversations, actionable insights and next steps, aimed to help founders move closer to their next milestone.

The 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽 of the 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝘂𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝘂𝗯, an initiative by Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) in partnership with NSRCEL, brought climate founders together for a day of learning, exploration and real-world insights.

Founders engaged with Prashanth Venkatesh, Marketing Director, Brand Unilever and Sustainability Unilever, on building strong brand narratives for early-stage climate ventures. They explored how to scale B2B revenue streams with Vinod Chandramouli, Co-founder, Mycelium Ecology and Mentor, NSRCEL, and unpacked what drives or slows new product adoption with Abhinav Ravikumar, Global Brand Director, Lux and Lifebuoy.

Founders also heard from Niharika Kolte Alekar, Founder of Volar Alta and an NSRCEL alum, who shared her journey on leveraging NSRCEL as a founder and using the ecosystem effectively through different stages of building.

The experience wrapped up with networking that encouraged open conversations, reflections and meaningful connections among founders and ecosystem partners.

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽 for 𝗖𝗼𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝟯 of the 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝘂𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺, an initiative by Alstom in partnership with NSRCEL, brought together founders building solutions across mass mobility, last-mile connectivity, energy infrastructure and mobility-focused digital technologies.

The bootcamp began with an orientation that set expectations and helped founders navigate the program and ecosystem. This was followed by focused interactions and conversations with start-ups, creating space for shared learning and exchange of perspectives.

Founders also engaged in sessions on building data-driven products with Prateek Gupta and scaling B2B sales with Vinod Chandramouli, Co-founder, Mycelium Ecology and Mentor, NSRCEL. They also heard from Niharika Kolte Alekar, Founder of Volar Alta and an NSRCEL alum, who shared insights on leveraging the NSRCEL ecosystem as a founder.

The experience concluded with networking, enabling deeper conversations and connections across the cohort and the wider ecosystem.

Econic Clothing LLP has received the Son of the Soil Award Assam 2025. The venture builds sustainable fashion solutions while creating impact-driven livelihoods in Assam.