Six youth-led startups from across the country won the 8th edition of the Youth Co-Lab National Innovation Challenge 2026. The initiative is jointly led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) India and Citi Foundation in partnership with the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, and implemented by the T-Hub Foundation.
It has emerged as a key platform for promoting youth-led innovation and accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Niti Aayog informed that this year’s challenge received more than 350 applications from startups across 28 states. Following a rigorous selection process, 50 high-potential startups were shortlisted for the National Springboard Programme, a three-month virtual capacity-building initiative supported by 16 industry mentors and domain experts.
Following the final evaluation, six startups were selected for their scalable and high-impact solutions. The winning startups received seed grants of three lakh fifty thousand rupees each, while the runners-up were awarded two lakh twenty thousand rupees each.
