Mumbai: Vivekanand Education Society (VES), through its H.A.B.I.T (Hashu Advani Business Incubation and Technology) Foundation, successfully hosted HABITia ’25, its flagship entrepreneurship and startup event, on December 17, 2025, at VES Campus 2 in Mumbai.
HABITia brought together students, aspiring entrepreneurs, early-stage startups, mentors, investors, and industry leaders on a unified platform, with 256 participants registering for the event.
HABITia Reflects the Core Vision of the HABIT Foundation
Welcoming the gathering, Vijay Talreja, Director – HABIT Foundation and Trustee, VES, described HABITia as a true reflection of the foundation’s vision to nurture innovation-led entrepreneurship.
He highlighted the conclave as a dynamic learning platform where young innovators and early-stage founders showcase ideas, refine them through structured mentorship, and gain hands-on exposure to real-world entrepreneurial challenges.
The Chief Guest, R Ramanan, Chair of the National Expert Advisory Council, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, and former Mission Director of Atal Innovation Mission, delivered the keynote address.
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He underlined the role of institutions such as the HABIT Foundation in transforming curiosity into ideas, ideas into prototypes, and prototypes into scalable, impactful solutions.
Guest of Honour Dr Ramjee Pallela, Senior Consultant at ISBA and former COO of AIC-CCMB, emphasized the importance of research-driven entrepreneurship, strong mentorship frameworks, and ecosystem support in building sustainable startups.
The inaugural session concluded with remarks from Dr Jyoti Chandwani, Nodal Officer, HABIT Foundation and Professor at VESIM, who reiterated the foundation’s long-term commitment to fostering entrepreneurial mindsets and providing continued incubation support to promising student-led ventures.
HABITia Panel Explores Real-World Startup Journeys
A major highlight of HABITia ’25 was the panel discussion titled “BTS – Behind the Startup”, which focused on founder mindset, scalability challenges, technology-led growth, and the evolving role of venture capital in early-stage ventures.
Panelists included Shantiprakash (SP) Motwani, former Managing Director, Accenture Technology; Ranjeet Shetye, Venture Partner, YourNest Venture Capital; Zubin Kika, Executive Vice President – Technology and Digital, HDFC Bank; and Deepak Nihalani, Co-Founder, Snapwork Technologies and Epoch Technologies. The session was moderated by Amit Rambhia, Managing Director, Panache DigiLife Ltd.
Speakers shared insights on the convergence of emerging technologies, the importance of curiosity and continuous learning, the role of strong engineering fundamentals, and the need for customer-first execution while building scalable technology-driven enterprises.
Innovate to Incubate Startup Challenge at HABITia’25
As part of HABITia, the Innovate to Incubate – The Startup Challenge attracted strong participation from across institutions.
Out of 156 applicant teams, 64 advanced to the second round after initial screening. Following detailed pitch evaluations conducted both online and offline, nine teams qualified for the final round.
The judging panel comprised investors, incubator leaders, and industry experts, including Bhavesh Kothari, Nikhil Gupta, Dr Vijay Bijlani, Jaideep Pawar, Alok Ranjan, Chintan Oza, and Abhimanyu Anil Londhe.
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Winners Recognised with Incubation Opportunities
Winners of the challenge received cash prizes, certificates of achievement, and exclusive incubation opportunities at the HABIT Foundation.
- Melacure Pvt. Ltd., a skincare innovation brand from Vivekanand Education Society’s College of Pharmacy, Mumbai, secured the top position.
- Indiejeanous, a Mumbai-based sustainable upcycled denim brand, emerged as the first runner-up, while Maceazy – E-Kaathi, a mobility solution for visually impaired individuals developed by students of Chetana Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai, was named second runner-up.
HABITia ’25 concluded by reinforcing Vivekanand Education Society’s commitment to nurturing student entrepreneurship, fostering innovation, and building a vibrant startup ecosystem where ideas evolve into impactful, future-ready ventures.
