DoNER Ministry, Tezpur University to encourage entrepreneurship in Northeast

NEW DELHI (INDIA): Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DONER), jointly with the Department of Business Administration, Tezpur University and North Eastern Finance Corporation Limited (NEDFi), is coming up with a Business Idea Challenge to encourage entrepreneurship in the North-East Region (NER).nnThe annual industry-academia interface event ?Sampark?, which will see the DoNER Ministry?s involvement for the first time, brings the spirit of entrepreneurship in the region.nnThe event will take place on March 3, 2017 and will be the 17th edition in the series. To encourage the students towards entrepreneurship, a Pioneering Business Idea Challenge 2017 is being organized as a part of the event. The contest is open to any student of North Eastern Region, having a business idea.nnThe winners will not only receive prizes but also get a chance to present the ideas before the funding agencies for probable financing. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize winners will receive Rs.20,000, Rs.15,000 and Rs.10,000 respectively. The contest is open till 26th February, 2017 and the details are available at Tezpur University website and at dare2compete.com.nnAddressing a curtain raiser press conference at the University campus recently, Professor Subhrangshu Sekhar Sarkar, faculty coordinator, Sampark 2017 appreciated the efforts of DoNER Ministry, Government of India and said that the Ministry is very serious about promoting entrepreneurship in the NER and the event is expected to create a platform towards awareness and initiation for entrepreneurship development based on natural resources of this region.nnSampark 2017 will have different sessions to motivate the students to be addressed by established entrepreneurs, prominent start-ups. A session on Act East Policy (One of India?s foreign policy effort to cultivate extensive economic and strategic relations with the nations of Southeast Asia) will also feature in the event.nnThere will be an exclusive interaction where the funding agencies represented by respective heads of the NER will clarify various queries of the prospective entrepreneurs and start-ups.nnNaveen Verma, Secretary, DoNER, Government of India, will be the Chief Guest.S.N. Pradhan, Joint Secretary, DoNER and B. Paul Muktieh, Chairman and Managing Director, North East Development Finance Corporation will be the other prominent dignitaries to grace the event. Prof. Mihir Kanti Chaudhuri, Vice Chancellor, Tezpur University will preside over the Inaugural Session.nn