Kejriwal and CM Mann’s Gift to Youth: ‘Punjab Startup App’ to Turn Every Student into an Entrepreneur, Earning While Learning

Chandigarh, October 12, 2025: The Aam Aadmi Party government has brought a new dawn of employment for Punjab’s youth. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and party’s National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal launched the ‘Punjab Startup App’ and ‘Entrepreneurship Mindset Course’ at a grand ceremony at Tagore Theatre in Chandigarh. With this historic initiative, Punjab has become the first state in the country where entrepreneurship has been made a mandatory subject in higher education. Education Minister Harjot Bains and several senior leaders were present at the event, and all called it a game-changing step for the future of youth.

The specialty of the Punjab Startup App is that it will directly connect more than 8 lakh students studying in universities, colleges, polytechnics, and ITIs across the state. Through this app, students will work on their own startup ideas and will need to earn two credits every semester, which will depend on their startup’s earnings. In the 2025-26 academic year, this course will begin in 20 government and private universities, 320 ITIs, and 91 polytechnic colleges, benefiting 1.5 lakh students. By 2028-29, this program will reach 5 lakh students. This is an initiative that will give every student not just a certificate, but real earnings and practical experience.

The Punjab Startup App has been designed keeping in mind the needs of youth. It has a 24x7 Artificial Intelligence support facility that will instantly answer all startup-related questions. Along with this, a team of experts will also help students advance their business ideas. The app is available in all three languages - Punjabi, Hindi, and English - so that students from every background can easily use it. Students will have to present a new business idea every semester, and they will receive credit points according to their earnings. These credits will become part of their degree, creating a unique combination of education and entrepreneurship.

Addressing the ceremony, Aam Aadmi Party’s National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal said that Punjab is the first state to make the Entrepreneurship Mindset Course mandatory at the higher education level. He said, “This app will give youth a dream, an idea, and the ability to develop it. If this model is adopted across the country, India can become a global superpower.” Kejriwal further said that entrepreneurship is innate in Punjab’s youth, and now the success of this app will enable India to compete with economies like China. He also mentioned that in 2025-26, this course will be mandatory in courses like BBA, BCom, BTech, and BVoc, and from next year it will be implemented in all degree courses.

In his address, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that Punjab has always been a land of opportunities and hard work always pays off here. He said, “Today’s student cannot find employment even after completing their education, but now this app will make youth job creators. With students’ startups, studying and earning will happen together.” Mann gave the example of YouTube, saying that this company also started as a college project. He said that Punjab’s youth can also bring about big changes by bringing forward such ideas. The CM proudly shared that in just 15 days of the app’s launch, business worth Rs 25 lakh has been done and 75,000 students have registered.

The biggest advantage of the Punjab Startup App is that it gives students the opportunity to give practical shape to their every small and big idea. Whether it’s opening a small shop in their area, starting an online business, or bringing a new product to market, the app supports all kinds of startups. Students will not only get help in making business plans, but will also receive training in all aspects like marketing, sales, financial management, and customer service. This app provides students with a complete ecosystem to realize their dreams, where they can learn from their mistakes and move toward success.

Punjab has become the first state to include ‘Entrepreneurship’ as a main subject even for Class 11 students. This step shows that the government wants to develop entrepreneurial thinking in youth from the school level itself. Now students will be prepared not just to get jobs, but to give jobs. This is a major change in the education system that takes youth away from traditional study methods toward practical skills and self-reliance. Through the Entrepreneurship Mindset Course, students will learn market understanding, risk-taking ability, leadership skills, and the art of problem-solving. This is not just a course, but a new way of living life.

The initial success of the Punjab Startup App has surprised everyone. CM Bhagwant Mann shared that in just 15 days of the app’s launch, 75,000 students have registered and their startups have done business worth Rs 25 lakh. These figures prove that Punjab’s youth have a hunger for entrepreneurship and they just needed the right platform. Among the registrations so far, diverse business ideas have emerged - someone started selling food products on a small scale while someone started working as an online service provider. This initial success shows that this app is not just a government scheme, but a means to fulfill the needs and dreams of youth.

Both Arvind Kejriwal and CM Bhagwant Mann believe that this model of the Punjab Startup App and Entrepreneurship Mindset Course can become an example for the entire country. If all states of India take such initiatives, the problem of unemployment in the country can be eliminated and India can emerge as an economic superpower at the global level. This initiative will not only transform the education system but will also lead the state’s youth on the path of innovation, economic independence, and job creation. This historic step by the Punjab government will fully prepare youth to compete with economies at home and abroad and will realize the dream of making Punjab the country’s largest startup hub.