EDII Celebrates its 44th Foundation Day
EDII 44th Foundation Day in Ahmedabad Celebrates Ideas That Grow Real Value
Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Ahmedabad, marked its 44th Foundation Day on 20 April 2026 with a clear message: entrepreneurship remains central to India’s growth story. The event also showed how the institute keeps linking training, mentorship, rural enterprise and policy work to support new business creation.
The original article says the chief guest was Shri Kishor Kharat, former President of EDII and former MD and CEO of Indian Bank and IDBI Bank. EDII’s own newsroom confirms that he was invited as chief guest for the 44th Foundation Day, and the institute said the day would mark more than four decades of support for entrepreneurs. His role matters because he has long been associated with banking and public sector finance, areas that often shape access to credit for small firms and first-time founders.
Kharat’s message on the strength of entrepreneurs fits the wider national picture. India has built one of the world’s largest startup ecosystems, with more than 1.4 lakh DPIIT-recognised startups reported in recent years, and that growth is closely tied to jobs, innovation and new markets. Reports on the startup ecosystem also point to the role of incubators, accelerators, venture capital and internet access in helping new firms grow faster. In simple terms, the point made at EDII is backed by the broader trend: when more people start businesses, more local jobs and services can follow.
Dr Sunil Shukla’s remarks on training and mentorship also match what many entrepreneurship bodies now stress. TiE Delhi-NCR, for example, treats one-to-one mentoring as a core support tool for new founders, with experienced business leaders guiding them through real problems and contacts. EDII itself says it was set up in 1983 as a national resource organisation in entrepreneurship education, research and training, and it continues to train large numbers of potential entrepreneurs every year. That makes the institute’s focus on knowledge, skills and guidance more than a slogan; it is part of its core work.
The article also mentions the release of two coffee table books, one on 55 alumni success stories and another on 100 SVEP beneficiaries. This is important because such stories show that entrepreneurship is not only about city start-ups and technology firms. Under the Start-Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme, EDII works as the National Resource Organisation and supports rural livelihood creation across 82 blocks in 15 states, helping self-help group members and their families build small non-farm enterprises. A government note on SVEP says the programme is designed to build rural enterprise support systems and expand local income options in villages. Earlier official reporting also showed that SVEP had already reached over 150 blocks in 23 states in its expansion phase, which shows the scale of the effort.
EDII’s role is wider than one anniversary event. The institute says it works with ministries, departments and corporates, and that it trains more than 2,50,000 potential entrepreneurs and reaches nearly 30,000 MSMEs each year. It also runs programmes tied to innovation, incubation, policy work and inclusive entrepreneurship, which helps explain why the Foundation Day carried a strong development message. In that sense, the celebration was not only a formal function, but also a reminder that entrepreneurship policy, training and rural support now sit at the centre of India’s growth debate.
At its heart, the 44th Foundation Day reflected a larger idea. India’s economic rise has depended on people who start, build and sustain businesses, often with limited support at the beginning. EDII’s work, from alumni support to rural enterprise programmes, fits that national need and gives the day real weight beyond the ceremony itself.
