New Delhi witnessed a powerful display of youthful innovation this Wednesday. The Campus to Market-Delhi Startup Yuva Festival 2026 reached its exciting finale at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre. This event, which started as a simple idea-sharing platform for students, has transformed into a genuine launchpad for groundbreaking ventures. The festival now propels innovations across critical sectors like national defence, deep technology, and environmental sustainability.
Six Startups Win Major Support
At the grand finale, organizers selected six standout startups. These teams presented solutions designed to tackle some of India's most pressing modern challenges. Their work ranges from securing the nation's digital data and physical borders to completely reimagining everyday consumer products and core technologies.
The festival was organized by the Delhi government's Department of Higher and Technical Education. It featured vibrant student startup exhibitions, intense pitching sessions, and various ecosystem-building activities. Participants came from eleven universities, colleges, and Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) located across the capital.
The top six winning startups each received a significant equity-free seed grant of Rs 10 lakh. In a broader push to foster entrepreneurship, the government also announced plans to award Rs 1 lakh each to one hundred additional student startups. Officials revealed that a draft Delhi Start-Up Policy is currently in the works, signaling stronger future support.
Ministers Hail Youth as Job Creators
The exhibition was formally inaugurated by a key union minister and Delhi's leadership. Jayant Chaudhary, Union Minister of State with independent charge for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, attended alongside Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood.
Minister Chaudhary emphasized the nation's demographic strength. "India is a young nation with immense youth power, which gives us tremendous working capacity," he stated. "However, the true benefit of this demographic advantage will be realised only when young people are given opportunities to move forward, their talent is recognised and their skills are refined."
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta highlighted a fundamental shift in the student mindset. "Today's youth is no longer merely a job seeker but is emerging as a job creator," she observed. "Student startups in Delhi are demonstrating exceptional creativity and innovation, offering practical solutions to contemporary social, environmental and technological challenges."
Education Minister Ashish Sood outlined the government's strategic vision. "Startups existed in Delhi earlier as well, but were scattered," he explained. "There was neither a clear startup policy nor a system to link students with industry, mentors and investors. The Delhi government is now building a complete ecosystem — from school education to higher and technical education — placing skills, entrepreneurship and innovation at the centre."
Meet the Winning Innovators
The selected startups represent a diverse mix of high-tech ambition and practical problem-solving.
HeliousAI is making waves in the defence sector. The startup is building a proprietary artificial intelligence layer capable of detecting and identifying terrorists hidden in dense forest foliage. Founder Prakhar Tripathi clarified their unique role. "We're focused on extracting intelligence for security forces. While others build drones and cameras, we build the intel layer on top of them, enabling detection and identification of terrorists who are hiding, particularly in heavily forested areas of Kashmir."
Core team member Kritika Singh confirmed the technology's advanced stage. "Our in-house AI is fully proprietary and patent-ready. We are already working with Indian Army's Northern Command and have received our first letter of intent, addressing a real, on-ground operational challenge." Co-founder Tushar Gothwal added that the technology also has vital civilian applications, such as identifying illegal waste discharge into the Yamuna river, pinpointing pollution hotspots, and providing evidence to enforcement agencies.
In the deep-tech space, AllSecureX is democratizing quantum-grade cybersecurity. They offer a software-only solution that delivers advanced cryptography without requiring expensive quantum hardware. This approach makes top-level data protection accessible to many more enterprises. Founder Himanshu Vohra broke down the cost revolution. "Quantum security solutions typically cost between Rs 2 crore and Rs 50 crore. We have made quantum-grade cryptography nearly 100 times more affordable, enabling enterprises to deploy a secure quantum layer with a single click."
Innovation rooted in daily life is evident in Biocare Ventures LLP's FlushSHE. This startup has created India's first fully flushable and biodegradable sanitary pad. Made from plant-based, water-dispersible materials, it aims to eliminate plastic waste and ease disposal challenges for women across the country.
Arista Vaults brings smart intelligence to travel. The startup integrates Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and AI into luggage and personal accessories. This allows users to track their belongings in real-time and helps prevent loss or theft.
On the strategic defence front, Heuronics Pvt Ltd is focused on building indigenous small military underwater systems. This work directly supports India's national push for core technology ownership and self-reliance in defence manufacturing.
Completing the winners' circle is Logify360. This startup offers an AI-native observability platform for tech systems. It replaces complex programming syntax with simple plain English queries. The platform promises to deliver deeper operational insights at up to fifty percent lower cost than existing solutions.
The festival's success story underscores a vibrant shift. Delhi's student community is actively moving from consuming technology to creating it, driving solutions with both local impact and global potential.
