Surya Prakash

District Startup Coordinator, Govt. of Bihar |
Empowering youth & rural entrepreneurs

[Surya Prakash @suryaIND22]

@SharmaShradha Nisha’s story is truly touching. Her resilience, compassion, and spirit are inspiring. Her dream of bringing a Vitiligo Conference to Bihar deserves to become a reality.

[Shradha Sharma @SharmaShradha]

She tried to end her life three times. Not because she had vitiligo. But because of how society treated her.

When I heard her story, my heart broke.

As a little girl, she was treated like an untouchable. And it continued as she grew.

Her schoolteacher told her classmates not to go near her. Children distanced themselves from her. Imagine what that does to a little child’s heart.

All because her skin looked different.

But she refused to give up.

She started a food venture. And then something heartbreaking happened.

When she wasn’t around, people happily picked up her food and ate it. But when she was present, they refused to eat.

Same food. Same hands that prepared it. Only her presence changed their minds.

Imagine trying to build something with so much hope, only to be rejected because of how you look.

Eventually, without enough support, she had to shut down her startup.

But here’s what I want you to know about this remarkable woman.

She hasn’t stopped giving. She hasn’t stopped smiling. She hasn’t stopped helping others.

And something she told me moved me deeply.

Today, she is taking care of an elderly woman who was abandoned by her own family because she had vitiligo.

Just think about that.

A woman who was denied love and acceptance for so much of her life is now giving that very love and acceptance to someone else.

How beautiful is that?

She is spreading joy, creating awareness and helping thousands of people, especially those living with vitiligo.

And she has a dream.

She wants to organise a vitiligo conference in Bihar next year.

I told her, let’s make it happen.

And today, I’m asking all of you to join me.

Let’s support her. Let’s stand beside her. Let’s help her build again.

Because nobody should have to fight for the simple dignity of being accepted.

And please remember, vitiligo is not contagious. But prejudice can spread from one person to another.

Look at her smile in this photograph. Look at the joy.

I kept thinking about the little girl who was told nobody should come near her.

And today, here she is, holding my hand, smiling, giving so much love to the world.

I wish the world had been kinder to that little girl.

We cannot change her childhood. But together, we can help change her future.

Bihar, let’s make her dream happen.

And to everyone who has ever been made to feel different, unwanted or less than others:

आप जैसे हैं, बहुत खूबसूरत हैं।

You belong. You matter. And your dreams matter.

Proud of you Nisha Bhagwat. ❤️

[Surya Prakash @suryaIND22]

@SharmaShradha अपने ही गाँव-मिट्टी से खड़े होकर बड़े सपने देखना और उन्हें हकीकत में बदलना...
यही नए बिहार की असली पहचान है।
ऐसे उद्यमियों की कहानी सिर्फ एक startup की कहानी नहीं, बल्कि पूरे बिहार के बदलते आत्मविश्वास की कहानी है। गर्व है..
#ShuruKar

[Shradha Sharma @SharmaShradha]

Have you ever thought of starting something of your own?

We asked young people from different walks of life. Many had.

Then came the harder question: what’s stopping you?

The answers touched on money, stability, paperwork, finding customers and knowing where to begin. Beneath them was something I’ve heard across Bharat for 18 years: the desire to build is there, but too often people are left to figure out the first step alone.

That is why we’re building ShuruKar: an ecosystem to ask the questions that come with starting up, get guidance, and work out what to do next.

ShuruKar launches on 10 October at Gyan Bhawan, Patna.

If an idea has been on your mind, bring it along. As your Shradha Didi, I want to help you take that first step.

Hokar Nidar, Shuru Kar.

[Surya Prakash @suryaIND22]

@SharmaShradha #suruKar

[Shradha Sharma @SharmaShradha]

आज गांधी जयंती के अवसर पर इससे बड़ी और खूबसूरत बात क्या हो सकती है।

आज कुरुक्षेत्र में पंजाब और हरियाणा से इतने सारे युवा आए। मैंने बस एक सवाल पूछा -

“आपमें से कितने लोग अपना कुछ शुरू करना चाहते हैं?”

और फिर ये देखिए… कितने हाथ उठे। ❤️

गांधी जी ने कहा था -
“Begin with yourself.”
शुरुआत खुद से करो।

शायद बदलाव की शुरुआत भी ऐसे ही होती है।
एक सोच से। एक कदम से। खुद से।

शुरू करो। #shurukar

आप सभी को गांधी जयंती की बहुत-बहुत शुभकामनाएँ। 🙏 #गांधी_जयंती

[Surya Prakash @suryaIND22]

@SharmaShradha Well said 🫡

[Shradha Sharma @SharmaShradha]

India, it’s time to look Northeast.

#Shurukar #NortheastIndia #Entrepreneurship

[Surya Prakash @suryaIND22]

@SharmaShradha 17 editions, countless conversations, and an ecosystem that keeps growing. Excited for what’s next..❤️

[Surya Prakash @suryaIND22]

@SharmaShradha Absolutely. One person’s actions should never become a stereotype for an entire region. Character, values and actions should be the basis of judgment...
not geography. 🙏

[Shradha Sharma @SharmaShradha]

I am a Bihari, and some of the most hardworking, honest and passionate people I know come from Bihar, UP, Rajasthan and MP. Punish the harasser, always. But don't punish a whole region for one man's crime.
Judge people by who they are, not where they come from.

https://t.co/EHq9uULti0

[Shradha Sharma @SharmaShradha]

13th, 14th, 15th October. See you at TechSparks, 17th edition.

Let’s build what’s next. Together. ❤️

[Shradha Sharma @SharmaShradha]

Saw this today. @iitbombay is replacing the fans!!

So the problem was the fans?

Not the 19 year old who has been told since class 8 that one exam decides his life. Not the culture where a bad semester feels like the end of the world. Not the parents who say we expect, never we love you. Not the professors who never noticed a student disappearing in front of them.

No. The fans.

I understand an institute has to act. But if this is the headline and not what comes after, we have completely missed the point.

Our children are not breaking because of what is on the ceiling. They are breaking because nobody asked how they were doing before it was too late.

Change the fans if you must. But when does anyone change the culture?

[Surya Prakash @suryaIND22]

#BiharHaiTaiyaar

दशरथ मांझी जी ने सिखाया—
सपना बड़ा हो, तो पहाड़ भी रास्ता दे देता है।

बचपन की यादों से लेकर आज बिहार के युवाओं को startup spirit से जोड़ने तक,
उनकी सोच मेरे काम की असली प्रेरणा है।

रास्ते नहीं मिलते, बनाए जाते हैं।

[Surya Prakash @suryaIND22]

@SharmaShradha @narendramodi @narendramodi happy Birthday 🙏 ❤️

[Shradha Sharma @SharmaShradha]

Happy birthday, PM @narendramodi ji 🙏

Few leaders have made an entire generation believe that where you start does not decide where you end up.
Thank you for the energy, the conviction and the relentless work for India.
Wishing you good health and many more years of service. 🇮🇳

#HappyBirthdayModiJi

[YourStory @YourStoryCo]

Data centres are thirsty. Really thirsty- thousands of litres a day, just to stay cool. 💧

And that's costing us more than we realise. But what if someone could flip the script entirely?

That's exactly what Uravu Labs, a new-age deeptech startup, is doing. Turning data centres from water consumers into water producers!

In this episode, @swapnil_ides, Co-Founder and CEO of @uravulabs, joins Shubhangi Mishra to show you exactly how.

This is the kind of ambition fueling India's New Tech Order.

Watch the full episode 👇

Want to meet the founders building India's frontier tech, in person?

Join us at:
📍 TechSparks 2026 | Oct 13-15 | Taj Yeshwantpur, Bengaluru

🎟️ Get your tickets now: https://t.co/f6FUtzyh3W

[YourStory @YourStoryCo]

.@Avendus Wealth Management has appointed Umang Papneja as its Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He will lead the wealth business’s next phase of growth, with a focus on founders, corporate houses and family offices.

Papneja stepped down as Julius Baer’s India head in May. He previously served as Chief Investment Officer at 360 ONE.

Avendus Wealth manages over $9 billion in assets and serves family offices, ultra-high-net-worth individuals and corporate houses. The Avendus Group, founded in 1999, has a presence across 12 cities in India, the US and Singapore.

#Avendus #AvendusWealth #UmangPapneja #WealthManagement #JuliusBaer

[Surya Prakash @suryaIND22]

@SharmaShradha The next phase of the startup ecosystem should be about creating customers, not just companies.

[Shradha Sharma @SharmaShradha]

India has recognised more than 2 lakh startups. But will it buy from them?

For a decade, India has encouraged its young people to build.

We created funds, grants, incubators, tax incentives, credit guarantees, challenges and accelerators.

But when a startup finally builds something that works, it confronts a harder question:

Who will buy it?

In FY26, the Government e-Marketplace handled purchases worth ₹5.03 lakh crore.

Micro and small enterprises received ₹2.36 lakh crore, or 47.1% of the total.

Startups received just over ₹19,000 crore, less than 4%.

Why the difference?

MSEs have a procurement mandate. Startups have exemptions.

One tells the government: you must buy.
The other tells the startup: you may apply.

India relaxed prior turnover, experience and earnest-money requirements for recognised startups. But it gave government buyers no target, no budget line and no reporting obligation to purchase from them.

And getting through the tender is only the beginning.

Consider an illustrative case - a four-year-old company with ₹6 crore in revenue wins a ₹5 crore government order. Liquidated damages can run to 10% of contract value, ₹50 lakh, often secured by an irrevocable bank guarantee.
Add performance security, production costs and the payment cycle, and the biggest order in the company's history can consume more cash than it generates.

The biggest order in a young company's history should not become the order that kills it.

Defence and space show us another path.

India unlocked private innovation in these sectors not only by funding startups. It created procurement routes, converted successful prototypes into orders, and changed contract terms for emerging technology.

Several states are already experimenting -

Kerala enables direct procurement from startups.

Telangana offers a price preference and time-bound evaluation.

Maharashtra requires departments to earmark 0.5% of their budgets for innovation.

Karnataka is positioning government as the first customer for deep-tech startups.

Odisha has reduced the performance-security burden.

India already possesses the answers. Now it needs national scale.

I propose a 1% Purchase Order Mission:

Earmark at least 1% of central procurement for recognised startups.

Allow successful government-funded pilots to convert into orders.

Create startup-specific contract terms for first-of-a-kind technology.

Publish ministry-wise and PSU-wise startup procurement every quarter.

On FY26 GeM volumes, 1% would mean approximately ₹5,000 crore in annual demand, without creating another subsidy or funding scheme.

India spent its first startup decade teaching young people to build.

The next decade must answer a harder question:

Will India trust them enough to buy what they build?

Because grants build prototypes.

Purchase orders build companies.

Read the full story with @PremManukonda here - https://t.co/QhhrtQrzAv

#StartupIndia #IndianStartups #PublicProcurement #DeepTech