Masters' Union Launches 'Bharat Innovators Scholarship' to Empower Village Entrepreneurs Sanjay Modi, founder of NearBook and a recent winner on Shark Tank India – Campus Special, is the first recipient of this new scholarship.

In a bold step towards promoting grassroots entrepreneurship, Masters' Union, a prominent business and technology school in India, has announced the launch of the Bharat Innovators Scholarship. This initiative is tailored to support startup founders emerging from India's villages and smaller towns, offering financial and institutional backing to help them scale their ventures while pursuing postgraduate education.

The scholarship offers full tuition waivers ranging from INR 30 to INR 40 lakh per student and will be awarded to up to five entrepreneurs each year. The total financial outlay for the initiative is expected to be between INR 2 crore and INR 2.5 crore annually, positioning it among the most ambitious educational entrepreneurship scholarships in the country.

Sanjay Modi, founder of NearBook and a recent winner on Shark Tank India – Campus Special, is the first recipient of this new scholarship. Modi has joined the Postgraduate Programme in Technology and Business Management under Masters' Union's Young Leaders Cohort.

"There is no shortage of entrepreneurial spirit in India's smaller towns, but what is often missing is structured support, exposure, and capital," said Pratham Mittal, founder of Masters' Union. "The Bharat Innovators Scholarship is our way of giving back to the startup ecosystem by investing in those who do not always have access to traditional opportunities."

The scholarship is open to Indian nationals aged 20 to 30 residing in non-metropolitan areas. Eligible candidates must have either launched a startup or developed a minimum viable product (MVP). Applicants can submit their pitch decks and founder profiles via email. A multi-stage evaluation process will determine the final selection.

"Shark Tank and Anupam Mittal's early backing gave NearBook its first real push, but scaling a startup takes more than visibility. As a founder from a small town, access to mentorship, capital, and a structured ecosystem was always going to be the tougher part. The Bharat Innovators Scholarship at Masters' Union brings all of that together," stated Modi.

Successful applicants will gain entry into Masters' Union's broader entrepreneurial ecosystem, including its Venture Initiation Programme (VIP). The VIP acts as a venture studio and accelerator, guiding students through the process of validating ideas, building products, and accessing early-stage capital. Over the last five years, VIP claims to have incubated more than 100 ventures, with student startups raising INR 22 crore in external funding and generating INR 35 crore in revenue in FY25.

The scholarship also ensures access to mentorship from industry leaders, including Manoj Kohli, Chairman of Masters' Union and former CEO of Bharti Airtel, and Rajat Mathur, Managing Director at Morgan Stanley.

Masters' Union continues to strengthen its position as a unique institution where academic excellence meets entrepreneurial execution. With the launch of the Bharat Innovators Scholarship, the school aims to open doors for young visionaries from India's heartlands and help shape the next wave of innovators and change-makers.