Anvesha, Chemotronics triumph at Startup Summit on NIT campus

Teams including Anvesha and Chemotronics emerged victorious in two distinct events organised during the Startup Summit at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) on Sunday. The coordinator of the event, Dr Pamita Awasthi, said the summit featured two new competitions, Productathon-2025 and Ideathon-2025, alongside expert lectures.

The Productathon challenged participants to develop a functional prototype within 24 hours. Team Anvesha, led by Yashwant Singh from National Institute of Technology Hamirpur, clinched the first prize with their Algae-Based Air Purifier and received a cash award of Rs 70,000. The second prize, worth Rs 50,000, went to Team VayuSena, led by Sahil Vatsi of Sardar Patel University, Mandi, for their Indoor Navigation System for Emergency Situations. Team VoltAces, led by Abhishek Duharia from NIT Hamirpur, took home the third prize of Rs 30,000 for their project on multiple sensor deployment and testing using a single microcontroller.

In the Ideathon, Team Chemotronics from National Institute of Technology Hamirpur, led by Param Sohal, secured the first prize of Rs 40,000 with their innovative proposal for an Industrial Pipeline Sewage Cleaning Bot. The second prize, worth Rs 25,000, was awarded to Team CO2 Conquerors from NIT Hamirpur, while the third prize of Rs 15,000 was shared by teams Torvalds and Unisole, also from National Institute of Technology Hamirpur.

Consolation prizes of Rs 20,000 were distributed to other deserving teams. Dr Awasthi said the involvement of experts such as Dr Surender Singh Saini, Senior Principal Scientist at CSIO Chandigarh, who discussed challenges in product development. Er. Rishab Dhenkaawat, co-founder of Oculosense Pvt Ltd, shared his startup journey, while Er Lalit Kaundal, former Head of Operations at Skygear and Prof Rakesh Sehgal, Dean, along with Dr Ashok Kumar, Dean of Student Welfare, also shared valuable insights.

Dr Awasthi expressed her gratitude for the support of Prof HM Suryavanshi, the Director of the institute, Dr Archana Nanauty, the Registrar, Dr Rakesh Sehgal, and Dr Rajesh Sharma, who were also present at the event.