Odisha’s student entrepreneur wins GITAM SmartIDEAthon

In grand finale of the SmartIDEAthon 2023 — an annual pan-India mega pitch-fest organised by GITAM (Deemed to be University), a promising young entrepreneur Anup Paikaray bagged the winner’s title, a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh and a fully sponsored trip to Boston. He is a student of the Odisha University of Technology and Research from Odisha and founder of Newrup Tech Solutions.

This startup develops heat-powered air blowers to harness excess heat from Chulas or Tandoors, converting it into rotational energy for an internal fan, at just Rs 500. It thereby seeks to impact the lives of over two billion women still cooking on traditional chulhas/mud stoves worldwide.

As chief guest at the event, Pawan Kumar Chandana, co-founder of Skyroot Aerospace and ex-ISRO scientist said, “Entrepreneurship gives immense satisfaction and helps create impact and employment.”