Late Dr. V. G. Patel, honoured with the Padma Shri on March 30, 2017, is recognized by the entrepreneurship fraternity as the ‘Father of Entrepreneurship Movement.’ After a legendary life spanning close to eight decades, the leader who was fondly known was ‘V. G.’ finally laid down his mantle and settled in peace on April 4, 2019. He started out in the 1970s, convincing people about ‘entrepreneurship’ and after a lot of hard times, succeeded in popularising the concept as the be-all and the end–all in raising a nation’s business index and thus generating employment opportunities and promoting economic development. The results of various efforts led premier financial institutes to set up a National Resource Institute in Entrepreneurship, the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), in Ahmedabad. Under the aegis of EDII, innovative programmes and projects deep-rooted entrepreneurship, bringing progress to the people, nationally and internationally. And, amidst all the planning and implementation, Entrepreneurship Trainers/Educators/Mentors played a major role in fructifying the dreams of Dr. Patel, whom he rightly hailed as the backbone of the entrepreneurship development movement. The achievements assign immortality to Dr. V. G. Patel. This award in particular seeks to celebrate his vision and unparalleled zeal to assign ‘entrepreneurship’ the status of a unique development strategy.

Award Details:

• The Award will be conferred upon individuals in recognition of their outstanding contribution to entrepreneurship development under the following categories:
  • Traditional/Conventional Entrepreneurship
  • New Age Entrepreneurship
  • Social Entrepreneurship
• The Award comprises a citation and a cash prize of ₹1,00,000 (Rupees One Lakh only) for each category.
• The selection process will be conducted through a rigorous three-tier evaluation mechanism, including screening, detailed assessment by a high-level Award Committee, and a personal interaction with shortlisted nominees.
• The decision of the Award Committee shall be final and binding on all applicants.
• Incomplete applications are liable to be rejected and will not be considered for evaluation.
• Applicants are advised to download and review the application form in advance to familiarise themselves with the questions and prepare the necessary information and supporting documents for submission.
• Last date for receiving online applications is May 31, 2026 (5:30 PM)

Eligibility:

1. Open to all professionals actively engaged in imparting Entrepreneurship training/education/mentoring/promoting Start-ups.
2. Should have at least 5 years of relevant experience

For any query; please contact:
Harmeet Kaur Dawar
Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India
P.O. BHAT – 382 428, Dist. Gandhinagar, (Gujarat)
Tel   079-69104900/4999/5000
E-mail vgpaward@ediindia.org
[M]: 6357367344

For submitting your online application:

1. For Registration click here .