The Government of Punjab launched the ‘Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum’ (EMC) last year to embed job creation as a core outcome of undergraduate education across the state. Delivery was led through the ‘Punjab Startup App’, a mobile-first, AI-enabled platform available in Punjabi, Hindi and English, rolled out in the Academic Year 2025–26 across 20 universities, 320 ITIs and 91 polytechnics. EMC, its learning modules and the Punjab Startup App was designed in partnership with Masters’ Union, one of India’s leading B-schools.
In its first year, the rollout reached 1.5 lakh students. Within the first term (October to February) alone, 1.2 lakh first-year students collectively generated nearly ₹40 crore in revenue averaging ₹4,000 per student and ₹16,000 per team marking one of the largest live enterprise exercises embedded inside a public higher education system.
EMC was made a mandatory course for every undergraduate student in Punjab. Universities will ensure a minimum of 2 credits per semester(aligned to programme structure), with evaluation based on execution, reflections, customer feedback, revenue/impact benchmarks and mentor inputs captured on the app. To build this, Masters’ Union adapted its ‘Out-Class’ and ‘PGP-TBM’ playbooks, where students ‘learn by doing’ through structured challenges and translated it into a simple, mobile app for all undergrad students. The Punjab Startup App standardises delivery statewide with content and case studies, business-planning tools, progress dashboards, structured mentorship, peer forums and AI-generated performance feedback.
The programme has enabled students to do better than merely conceptualise business ideas; it has pushed them to operate in real markets. Learners are acquiring paying customers, managing fulfillment cycles, responding to feedback and building repeat demand all within the discipline of a graded academic framework. By embedding customer discovery, execution and retention into the timetable, the initiative is cultivating enterprise behaviour early, ensuring students graduate not just with degrees, but with demonstrated market experience.
Shri Bhagwant Mann, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Punjab, at the launch in October last year called the initiative ‘the new model of the emerging world’ aimed at providing real, practical knowledge, and added that it would serve as a ‘brainstorming hub’ for students to refine ideas and build successful ventures.
Pratham Mittal, Founder, Masters’ Union and Shark Tank India judge, said, “What began as a pilot has now demonstrated what is possible at scale. In just the first term, 1.2 lakh students have collectively generated nearly ₹40 crore in revenue but more importantly, they are learning the discipline of finding customers, delivering consistently and building repeat demand while still in college. The response in Punjab shows that entrepreneurship can be institutionalised as a measurable academic outcome beyond aspiration. I would be proud to see this model replicated across other states.”
The first phase prioritises BBA, BCom, BTech and BVoc with credit mapping, assessments and semester plans underway, followed by full-spread adoption in 2026–27. The intent is to convert entrepreneurship from a co-curricular interest into a graded, build-and-ship practice within the timetable, supported by a common digital backbone that standardises delivery and measurement state-wide. On the Punjab Startup App, learners choose practical tracks like e-commerce, content creation, freelancing, professional services or retail, and progress through weekly milestones covering opportunity selection, basic finance/budgeting, go-to-market and communication, fulfilment and repeat customers, and light-touch compliance. Modules also profile specific business models (for example, cloud kitchens), with in-app guidance and dashboards for students, faculty and administrators
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