Business Blasters programme to include pvt schools next year: Sisodia

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia also appealed to the investors to invest in student ventures and give them guidance.

New Delhi: Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday said the government’s Business Blasters programme, a part of the entrepreneurship curriculum pushed in government schools, will be extended to private schools from next year.

Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia at the Business Blasters Investment Summit and Expo, at Thyagaraj Stadium, on Saturday. (ANI)

Making the announcement during the Business Blasters investment summit and expo at Thyagaraj Stadium on Saturday, Sisodia, who is also the education minister, said, “We started the programme with government schools but from next year, private schools will be equally involved in it. On March 7, we will hold discussions with many private schools from Delhi on how they can participate in the Business Blasters programme.”

As part of the Business Blasters programme launched last year, students in classes 11 and 12 are mentored and provided financial capital of ₹2,000 as seed money to help kick-start their business ideas. It is a part of the Entrepreneur Mindset Curriculum (EMC) for classes 11 and 12. So far, over 300,000 students have formed over 51,000 teams and received seed money of ₹60 crore.

During the expo on Saturday, that saw over a 100 teams displaying their entrepreneurial ventures, Sisodia said the Business Blasters programme was crucial since it encouraged an entrepreneurial mindset among students. He added that the programme had increased the confidence of thousands of children in government schools in Delhi. “With their unique and brilliant ideas, our young entrepreneurs from Delhi government schools drew the attention of investors. As an education minister, it was an overwhelming and proud moment for me to see these kids demonstrate their entrepreneurial skills on such a large stage,” said Sisodia in a series of tweets.

“Whether it was homemade candles, LED bulbs, customised T-shirts, paintings, or mobility transformer for specially abled people, our young entrepreneurs amazed the investors and audience with their products and out of the box thinking,” he added.

Sisodia also appealed to the investors to invest in student ventures and give them guidance. “Any government can do such experiments only up to a certain level. It is the job of the entrepreneurs to take it forward from here. These young business stars of today are the industrialists of the future,” he said.