Providing Assistance to the Local Community Supporting the Start-up 

Centurion University is a recognised incubator by Start-up Odisha and Start-up India (Government of the State and Government of India). As of 2024, 64 start-ups were incubated at the University in variegated areas beginning from e-mobility to apparel. The University adheres to Odisha Startup Policy 2016 (Amended in 2018) and National Innovation and Startup Policy 2020.

The University provides ongoing financial and outreach valuable assistance to the local community in supporting startup initiatives through various collaborative efforts and resources.

Awareness Drives: The University in collaboration with the local government conducts several awareness campaigns to ignite scientific temper and entrepreneurial mindset among its students, faculty members, and local community. In the year 2022, around 15 awareness drives were conducted in the mode of the physical workshop which the local community was also invited to.

The outcomes of such drives have resulted in the inception of two new startups in the year 2022, one is Sangam Designs and the other is Mihir`s Coffee on Wheels. Sangam Designs is an apparel startup based on the concept of transforming waste cloth into wealth (usable apparel). It’s a women-led startup that employs differently-abled women. Mihir`s Coffee on Wheels is a mobile van inside the University that allows students (clients) to prepare their orders themselves. Both of these startups like the other remaining 47 startups are ventures of the local community.  Please refer to the incubation report for details of the university’s start-up and start-up ecosystem.

Financial Assistance:

The University provides financial assistance to all start-ups adhering to Startup Odisha Policy 2016 (Amended in 2018). Please refer to the policy and the page number 14-16

Relevant Links 

1. Start up Odisha Policy (https://the University.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/startup/Startup-Policy%20Odisha-2016-with-amendments.pdf)
2. Incubation Report (https://the University.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/booklet/Incubation-Report.pdf)
3. Participation in Cross-Sectoral Dialogue Report

E-Vehicle

The University aims to involve students actively in the manufacturing of EVs. To provide candidates with in-depth and detailed knowledge about electric vehicles and the subject associates. The Unit ardently trains the students to understand the workings of EVs and their recent trends. It involves them in designing the full-scale power train for EVs and makes them more employable. This unit bridges the gap between conventional methods of learning and application-based processes of learning for the students and empowers them with the skills to face future challenges.

GTETS

• The Gram Tarang Employability Training Service Pvt. Ltd. (GTETS) is an employment-oriented skill-building initiative focusing on socially weaker sections of society, especially school dropouts in rural Odisha. Over 21,000 students have been trained through various programs in collaboration with the industry (NALCO, Vedanta, Simplex, Navayuga, and IL&FS).
• GTETS is a special-purpose vehicle created by the University and the second-ever partner of the National Skill Development Corporation to help upscale its existing vocational training activities.
• It implements various skill-building programs that are ongoing at the University. It has received recognition from FICCI and the United Nations for its innovative employment-linked skill development program.

GTIDS

The Gram Tarang Inclusive Development Services (GTIDS) attempts to provide financial services to the bottom of the pyramid clients through about 4000 banking correspondents in partnership with technology partners like Punjab National Bank, Andhra Bank, Indus Ind Bank United Bank of India & Union Bank of India. Presently GTIDS operates in nine states and is mandated to take this to 10,000 Gram Panchayats (GPs) by 2012.

GTSHC

The Gram Tarang Self-Help Cooperative (GTSHC) looks at rural India as a partner rather than a market. It constructively engages with the local community, especially through women’s Self Help Groups (SHG) across rural Odisha, to source, produce, and market various products ranging from soap and sanitary napkins to financial products like life insurance.

GTFPL

The Gram Tarang Foods Pvt. Ltd. (GTFPL) undertakes value addition of agricultural products near the source of production, through processes like spice oil extraction, and consequently offers alternative employment opportunities to the local population