Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Prof. S K Mehta, Vice Chancellor, University of Ladakh, and Dr. Sunil Shukla, Director General, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), in the presence of Dr. Pawan Kotwal, Advisor to the Lt. Governor, UT Ladakh on August 9.

The purpose of this MoU is to support the UT of Ladakh in becoming one of the most entrepreneurship-friendly destinations in India by promoting entrepreneurship education, training, policy research, and incubation support across the region. Under this MoU, EDII will implement various Entrepreneurship Development Activities such as:

·      Creating project profiles on emerging business opportunities (such as ethno-religious tourism, handicrafts, AYUSH and wellness, food processing, pashmina, wood carving, copper utensils, etc.) and making these available to students.

·      Establishing a pool of startup mentors and industry experts to mentor and support existing and future startups/ventures.

·      Conducting Entrepreneurship Development Programmes for students in UT Ladakh.

·      Promoting startups and innovations through training, counseling, mentoring, and handholding interventions.

·      Supporting the creation of a ‘Startup, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Policy.’

In addition to these initiatives, EDII will also establish and support the ‘Entrepreneurship Development Institute of Ladakh (EDIL)’ in collaboration with the UT Administration of Ladakh. This institute aims to create startups, innovative enterprises, and traditional businesses that can sustain, grow, and create jobs.

During the signing ceremony, Dr. Amit Kumar Dwivedi and Shri Pravir Krishna (Retd. IAS) from EDII, and Dr. Subrat Sharma, Dean of Research, and Dr. Mohd Rafee, Assistant Professor from the University of Ladakh, were present.