Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) T.M. Anbarasan on Wednesday launched Nimirnthu Nil, an initiative for students in higher education institutions to nurture innovation and entrepreneurship among the youth.
The initiative aims at helping students from 2,000 higher education institutions annually, and will be implemented with an outlay of ₹19.57 crore over five years. It targets training 30.5 lakh students in entrepreneurship and innovation.
Speaking at the event organised by the Entrepreneurship Development and Innovation Institute (EDII) at Anna University, the Minister said that hackathon competitions were being conducted to instill a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship among school students.
He inaugurated entrepreneurship development training for 9,000 beneficiaries from Tier-II and Tier-III cities. . Awards and cash prizes were also presented to students of Classes 6–12 belonging to government and government-aided schools as part of a programme being implemented with UNICEF.
A total of 71,735 individuals had received entrepreneurship training in the last four years through EDII. Moreover, awareness and training on innovation and entrepreneurship have been provided to 21.86 lakh school students and 6.40 lakh college students.
Additional Chief Secretary, MSME Department, Atul Anand; EDII executive director R. Ambalavanan; Joint Director of School Education, Ramakrishnan, and UNICEF representative Manasa Vasudevan were present at the event.
Published – July 17, 2025 12:42 am IST
