Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini is set to engage directly with a new generation of entrepreneurs on August 21, as the state government steps up efforts to turn youth aspirations into viable businesses, jobs and long-term economic opportunities.
The Chief Minister will interact with Gen-Z entrepreneurs and aspiring founders at Gurugram University, in a programme designed to move beyond conventional government outreach and provide young people with practical exposure to startup creation, financing, technology, skills and market opportunities.
The initiative reflects a broader shift in Haryana’s approach to youth employment, with the government seeking to encourage young people to become entrepreneurs and job creators rather than limiting their ambitions to conventional employment.
Saini has specifically directed officials to ensure that the programme remains informal and interactive. According to the government, he wants to spend the entire duration of the event with young participants, engaging with them directly rather than restricting the programme to formal speeches and official proceedings.
The event will include six master-class rooms where experienced entrepreneurs will mentor groups of around 50 young participants each. The sessions are expected to cover the practical stages of building a startup, including developing an idea, setting up an enterprise, accessing finance, obtaining technical support and navigating the challenges involved in taking a business from an initial concept to a sustainable venture.
Participants completing the training will receive certificates and will subsequently be linked with the MSME ecosystem, giving them an opportunity to gain practical understanding of how businesses operate.
A dedicated startup room will also be established during the programme, where around 60 successful young entrepreneurs will share their experiences and provide guidance to aspiring founders. Banking representatives will offer information on loans and financial assistance, while experts from skill universities will advise participants on training and capacity building.
The programme is being jointly organised by the departments of Higher Education, Skill Development and Industrial Training, and Industries and Commerce, signalling an attempt to bring education, vocational skills and industrial policy closer together.
One of the most significant components of the initiative will be the launch of the ‘Yuva Udyami Yatra’. The Chief Minister will flag off two buses from Gurugram, which will travel across Haryana and visit colleges, universities, ITIs and coaching institutions.
The objective is to take information about entrepreneurship directly to students in different parts of the state. The travelling teams will explain the opportunities available to aspiring entrepreneurs, respond to their questions and help them understand how their ideas can be developed into businesses.
The journey is scheduled to continue until December, when the government plans to organise a larger Gen-Z programme bringing together young people who have benefited from the initiative.
Saini has instructed officials to finalise the routes of the buses before the journey begins and inform educational institutions well in advance. At each location, students will be told how they can use the programme to develop their business ideas and access further assistance.
The government also plans to register young participants who benefit from the Yatra so that they can remain connected with the support ecosystem. Exhibitions and information stalls are expected to accompany the programme, including dedicated banking counters where students can learn about loans and other financial options.
The emphasis on follow-up support is particularly important. For many young entrepreneurs, the challenge is not simply generating an idea but understanding how to finance it, develop the required skills, comply with regulations, find markets and sustain the enterprise. By linking the outreach programme with MSMEs, banks and skill institutions, the government is attempting to create a more continuous support chain rather than a one-day awareness exercise.
The initiative also fits into Haryana’s wider push to strengthen its industrial and entrepreneurial ecosystem. The state government has increasingly placed emphasis on MSMEs, startups, skills and decentralised economic opportunities as part of its broader development strategy.
Speaking at the meeting, Saini said the coming years would be shaped by new technologies, innovation and fresh ideas. He argued that Haryana’s young population increasingly wants to create enterprises and employment opportunities rather than remain solely dependent on traditional jobs.
That change in aspiration could have wider economic implications for the state. Haryana already has a strong industrial base, but the next phase of growth will depend not only on large companies and established industrial centres but also on whether smaller cities, educational institutions and young entrepreneurs can participate in the emerging economy.
The Gurugram event therefore carries significance beyond a single interaction between the Chief Minister and young entrepreneurs. Its real test will be whether ideas discussed in the classrooms and startup room translate into functioning enterprises, access to capital, innovation and sustainable employment.
For Haryana, the larger challenge is to build an environment where a young person with an idea in a university, ITI or smaller district does not have to leave the state to find mentorship, finance or opportunity.
If implemented effectively, the ‘Yuva Udyami Yatra’ could help bridge that gap by taking the startup conversation beyond Gurugram and into educational institutions across the state. The government’s stated objective is clear: to make entrepreneurship an accessible career pathway for Haryana’s youth and to convert the state’s demographic strength into a source of innovation, enterprise and employment.
