Pitch Karo India 2026: ₹3 Lakh Prize Pool for Students & Startups — Frequently Asked Questions

It is a national pitch competition run by Pitch Karo India and held entirely online. Students, founders and young companies submit a business idea, optionally with a pitch deck, and a judging panel picks the winners. The aim is to surface inventive, scalable ideas from across the country.

The total pool stands at ₹3,00,000, and the programme advertises a headline figure of up to ₹3 lakh. On top of the cash, winners receive exclusive perks and introductions to more than 20 venture capital firms that are actively investing.

Indian citizens and residents. You could be a college student with nothing more than an idea, someone building a company at whatever stage, or an early-stage venture that is no more than 10 years old. Teams with co-founders are welcome too. Any sector is accepted — technology, traditional business or an entirely new category — as long as the idea is inventive, addresses a clearly defined problem and can scale.

No. Nothing in the eligibility rules requires DPIIT startup recognition or an MSME certificate. Because the contest is open to students and individual founders, you do not need a registered company of any particular type to take part.

No. This is a prize competition rather than an investment deal, so winning a cash award does not involve handing over any stake in your business.

A deadline is not specified in the programme information currently available. Registration is handled online, so check the official registration page for the latest dates before planning your submission.

Yes. Registration costs ₹249, which is the only payment mentioned for taking part in the competition.

A written description of your business idea is the core requirement, and a pitch deck is optional. If you do attach a deck, it must be no larger than 1 MB. The contest runs entirely online, and where you are asked to present, you may do so in English or Hindi.

A panel made up of professors from the IITs and business leaders who have built companies worth billions of dollars. They weigh the originality of the idea, how closely the solution answers the problem, and how scalable the model is.

Registration goes through the official page at https://pitchkaroindia.com/register, and full competition details are available at https://pitchkaroindia.com/pitch-karo-india-2026/.