Bharat has been the most forthcoming countries across all the member nations of UN, towards the commitments to implementation of UNSDGs, because here “sustainability” is not just a buzzword, very well imbibed in the culture itself. Vaidic Science is the most comprehensive knowledge base to understand the natural processes and life sciences, because it starts from the basic building blocks of life and goes till the universe.

Bharat is in a position to LEAD the World in solving the global warming & climate change crisis, just by adhering to our own holistic knowledge of Vaidic Science.

When we say, “क्षिति जल पावक गगन समीरा, पंच तत्व से बना शरीरा”– it is not just spirituality; it is pure natural science. This is ecology. And this has the solution for climate change and global warming in the most sustainable and holistic way. Similarly, when we say “पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् , पूर्ण मुदच्यते, पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय, पूर्ण मेवा वशिष्यतs” – This is not just philosophy; this is pure Life Science. This might fall flat in mathematics when we put finite numbers in the equation, as 2-2=2 cannot be true in maths, but it’ll become true when the numbers are infinite, as ∞ - ∞ = ∞, or 0-0=0, simply because life and nature are cyclic and infinite. This is what happens when a mother delivers a baby, you take a whole out of whole and still whole is left. And when we said “वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम”– It wasn’t spirituality but ecology, everything is connected, and thus the whole planet is one family. We can call it the oldest depiction of “Sustainable Development”, what is now being expressed in UNSDGs.

Therefore, on the governance side, we’ve constituted National Designated Authority for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement (NDAIAPA), under the chairpersonship of Secretary, MoEFCC. While on the other hand we have industry-academia alliance to organize a nation-wide hackathon for sustainability startups to nurture the talent and innovations for solving the sustainability matrix like Greenovation Hackathon.

Key contributors – 

1- The HOST: ICFAI Group of Educational Institutions – established in the year 1984 as a non-profit society for empowering people through education, by the pioneer visionary Shri NJ Yasaswy. Since then ICFAI has established 10+ universities across the breadth of the country from Uttarakhand to Nagaland, and also the length of the nation from Chhattisgarh till Himachal. The Greenovation Hackathon was held in the Dehradun Campus, in the northern Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.

2- The PARTNER: Re Sustainability Limited (Formerly Known as Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd) – was the industry partner in the event. Ramky is a true sustainability champion and an organization worthy of being termed as “Born in Bharat and Serving the Globe”.  A brain child of Shri B. S. Shantharaju, who made it big enough to compel like of KKR investment group to take 60% stakes in their vision, that involved wide array of solutions, including Waste Management, Recycling, Integrated Environmental Services, Consultancy, Facilities Management, Car Park Management, and Construction & Demolition Waste Management, among others. With an extensive footprint of 99+ operating locations spread across the world, to enable a sustainable future.

3- The PARTICIPANTS: Sustainability Startups from across the country – the event was flashed on all social media platforms, NASSCOM startup ecosystem, F6 platform, the Manthan startup ecosystem, which resulted in hundreds of applications. Our team at ICFAI, Hyderabad went through a painstaking process of identification, verification, segregation and detailed study of each application. After the 1st round of detailed study fifty startups belonging to diverse sectors like Agri-Food Technology to Circular Economy to Clean Tech to Climate Tech to Regenerative Farming to EVs to E-Waste management, Health Care, Deep Tech, Medical Waste Management, Sustainable Fashion, Sustainable Jewelry, Emission Reduction, Removal of Legacy emission, ESG, SaaS for Sustainability, MSW Management, Plastic Recycling, Sustainable Packaging, Sustainable Tourism and Waste to Energy to Wealth. Bottomline, is you name it, and they were there. There were over fifteen remarkable applications dedicated to circular economy, while nine from recycling sector to reinstate sustainability. In the next round, again sixteen bests were shortlisted to be given the opportunity to showcase their solution in the two-days exhibition at ICFAI Dehradun campus and also pitch in front of the Jury.

The Event – 

In the lush green valley of Dehradun, stands the ICFAI University campus in the area called Selaqui, spread over 25 acres and equipped with 2.5 lakhs square feet of built-up area for academic blocks, workshops, laboratories, library, auditorium, seminar halls, and more. The two days event started with Arrivals of Dignitaries, registration of the attendees, startups and students from various universities of Dehradun and nearby Haridwar, and even up till Roorkee. The Welcome Address was done by Dr. Ramesh Chand Ramola, Registrar – ICFAI University, Dehradun, followed by program and the event introduction to all the participants and attendees by Dr. Ram Karan Singh, Vice Chancellor (IUD). Dr. (Prof.) M Sainath, who helped IUD from the ICFAI – Hyderabad campus from conceiving the program till conducting the program took a keynote session on "Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Indian HEIs", while Dr. Neel Mani, Director, Institute of AI, DSVV spoke about the “Future Technologies” and finally a Vote of Thanks was read by Dr. Sanjeev Kumar, Associate Dean, ITS, IUD, before breaking for lunch.

Post lunch, Shri Amit J Sharma, Head, Business Excellence, Re Sustainability (the industry partner, sponsor and an Hon’ble Jury member) elaborated upon “Global Trends in Sustainability and the Circular Economy", which was enlightening, not just for the students, but also for many startups. After this, the exhibition and the Hackathon Pitching Sessions started parallelly at the exhibition halls in K-107 &108 as well as at the 1st floor board room respectively. Startups were divided into three groups and each group had a detailed pitching session lasting from a minimum of 45 minutes to a maximum of 120 minutes too. All the startups can vouch for the patient hearing given to them by the Hon’ble jury members, and the detailed interaction done with them like no other startups Hackathon in the country.

The 2nd day in the after noon around 1400 hours (2pm) the results were announced. 

1- Athar Packaging (Remarkable Innovation Prize):  Athar Packaging Solutions addresses the critical issue of plastic pollution and the need for sustainable packaging alternatives. Every year, 400+ million tons of plastic waste gets generated across the globe, within which over 80 million tons ends up in landfills and oceans, causing severe environmental damage. This pollution not only harms marine life but also disrupts ecosystems and contributes to climate change. Traditional plastic packaging, derived from non-renewable resources, exacerbates this issue due to its non-biodegradable nature. Consumers and businesses increasingly recognize the environmental impact of their choices, but there is a lack of viable, eco-friendly packaging options. Many companies still rely on conventional plastic due to cost and convenience, unaware of sustainable alternatives or hesitant to switch due to perceived higher costs and lack of awareness.

Athar Packaging solution transforms waste materials into durable, reusable packaging, offering a practical and scalable alternative to traditional plastics. By repurposing discarded materials, the demand for virgin plastic production reduces, contributing to a circular economy. The innovative packaging solutions cater to various industries, providing cost-effective, high-quality, and customizable options that meet the growing demand for sustainable practices. Athar Packaging Solutions bridges the gap between environmental responsibility and business needs, driving a positive change in the packaging industry by revolutionizing the packaging industry by transforming waste materials into high-quality, reusable packaging. 

2- WomenasticCo (Remarkable Innovation Prize):  WomenasticCo is a women led initiative into plastic waste management in a most innovative way by converting plastic waste into 3D printer filament by using only 5 Kw of solar energy and emitting low to no carbon footprint at all. Currently the MSME units recycling the plastic waste consume a lot energy, produces emission and carbon footprint, limited recycled products and no skill development at all. Enter WomenasticCo with their most innovative, holistic and sustainable solution for solving the plastic pollution for good. In the state of Haryana, on this youth day, the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Harayana, Shri Nayab Singh Saini, honored our startup WomenasticCo with the 1st prize in “Ideathon Haryana” competition. They were awarded with a cheque of ₹ 31,000/- (Thirty-One thousand Rupees).

3- Cluix Pvt. Ltd. (3rd Prize): CLUIX is a pioneering clean technology startup dedicated to research and development. Globally, the alarming figure of 771 million people without access to safe drinking water represents a continuing catastrophe affecting roughly one-tenth of the world's population.  Cluix is on a mission to create transformative solutions that exceed established industry benchmarks to achieve this by integrating cutting-edge advancements, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and embedded systems, into their product for spot testing of Water with laboratory grade precision. Furthermore, CLUIX prioritizes three fundamental principles in all their research, i.e., affordability, reliability, and sustainability.

4- Agso AgroSoldier Pvt. Ltd. (2nd Prize): AGSO: Agrosoldier, is a startup that converts any organic trash into highly value-added products within ten days of the time by 100% natural regenerative processes. Currently, they are upscaling three to four tons of Bio-waste into feed, fertilizer and Food in a shorter period without any external chemicals or inoculums, so their process is done naturally with the help of the Black Soldier Fly. This is a 100% organic and purely natural and efficient process, so any municipality or town management team can allow this to be done in the same organic waste management system at their primaries.

5- Vaidic Srijan LLP (1st Prize): All across the globe, we have a problem of overcrowded cities with depleting natural resources. Bad Air quality, sewage, biodiversity losses, drinking Water availability, polluted Waterbodies, increasing GHG emissions, sanitation & hygiene issues, depleting agricultural production and declining farm profitability, Chemicals & Antibiotics in Human food chain, floods & droughts, Water logging and so on. All these problems are the chain reaction of Water, Soil and Air getting contaminated. And therefore, a holistic & sustainable nature-based solution can solve all of them in one go. This is where Vaidic Srijan LLP steps in, which is a climate tech startup, which has developed Cownomics® Technology, for resurrection of the native ecology of Soil, Water and Air, through the Waterbodies. It restores the “ecosystem services” of the Waterbodies & Wetlands, “in-situ” conditions. The rejuvenated Water gets transformed into neuro-immuno booster for plants and animals, resulting diseases, pests and weather resilient farms of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Animal husbandry reducing the input cost and multiplying the yield.

The event was over, but the journey will continue, with newer startups, more events, more cohorts, accelerator programs, appreciations, winners, prize money, grants, impact investments and investors to enrich these ASIAN (Academia-Startups-Industry-Association-Networking) events.