Ahmedabad: Vande Bharatam, the nationwide initiative launched by Mr Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, to discover India’s grassroots innovators and entrepreneurs, today announced that acclaimed actor, television host and entrepreneur Mr Rajeev Khandelwal will serve as its Ambassador and Host.
In his role as Host, Khandelwal will anchor key milestones of the Vande Bharatam journey, including engagements with finalists, mentors and industry leaders, culminating in the national Grand Finale in Ahmedabad around Independence Day. As Ambassador, he will champion the initiative’s mission across the country, helping bring greater visibility to entrepreneurial talent from beyond India’s traditional start-up hubs.
Khandelwal is widely recognised for his work across television, cinema and digital platforms, and for hosting several popular reality and talk shows over the course of his career. His ability to connect with audiences across geographies makes him well suited to a programme that seeks entrepreneurial talent from every corner of India, including small towns, rural communities and underserved regions.
Launching the initiative, Gautam Adani said, “When I began my journey, I had nothing. Everything I am and everything I have achieved was given to me by the soil of Bharat. There is no shortage of talent in our nation, but opportunity has not always reached every corner of the country.
India has built one of the world’s largest start-up ecosystems, yet most founders still emerge from a handful of cities. Vande Bharatam is our effort to discover the innovators, problem-solvers and entrepreneurs whose ideas deserve recognition, support and a larger platform. We invite every Indian with the courage to build and the determination to create to come forward and participate.”
Speaking on his association with the initiative, Rajeev Khandelwal said, “I have spent much of my career meeting people with extraordinary stories, but Vande Bharatam is different — it is about going out and finding those stories before the world knows them. To be the voice that helps an innovator from a small town or a village get noticed is a responsibility I am genuinely excited about. I look forward to meeting these changemakers and helping the country discover them.”
Vande Bharatam is conducting a nationwide search for innovators, entrepreneurs and changemakers across all 36 States and Union Territories and more than 800 districts. Seventy-five finalists will be selected through a multi-stage process and invited to Ahmedabad for an immersive programme that includes mentorship, industry interactions and engagement with investors and business leaders, culminating in the Grand Finale around Independence Day.
Applications for Vande Bharatam opened on 24 June at vandebharatam.org.
-Based on Press Release
