12th Economic Times Startup Awards Unveils High-Powered Jury

The Economic Times has unveiled the high-powered jury for the 12th edition of The Economic Times Startup Awards 2026. The jury, chaired by Rishad Premji, executive chairman of Wipro, includes prominent entrepreneurs and business leaders such as Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and CEO of Paytm, and Sachin Bansal, cofounder of Flipkart and Navi.

The jury will deliberate on winners in eight categories, including Startup of the Year and Midas Touch for best investor. Other categories include Woman Ahead, Top Innovator, Social Enterprise, Bootstrap Champ, Comeback Kid, and Best on Campus. The winners will be selected after long deliberations followed by secret voting.

The jury members are accomplished founders, business leaders, and veteran entrepreneurs who have built and scaled some of India's best-known new economy companies. They include Mukesh Bansal, cofounder of Myntra, Curefit, and Nurix; Mithun Sacheti, cofounder of CaratLane; and Paras Chopra, founder of Wingify and Lossfunk.

Abhiraj Singh Bhal, cofounder and CEO of Urban Company; Adwaita Nayar, cofounder of Nykaa; Aryaman Vikram Birla, director of Aditya Birla Group; Irina Ghose, managing director at Anthropic India; Ajit Mohan, chief business officer of Snap Inc; and Satyan Gajwani, chairman of Times Internet, are also part of the jury.

The jury will meet in Bengaluru on August 25 to select the winners. The Economic Times Startup Awards has been held annually since 2015 and is considered the benchmark for entrepreneurial achievement in India.

## Why it matters The Economic Times Startup Awards comes at a defining moment for the Indian startup economy, which is navigating a slower pace of development in artificial intelligence. The awards recognize and celebrate entrepreneurial excellence in India, and the winners are often seen as role models for the startup ecosystem. The jury is looking for founders who can build resilient, frontier-facing businesses and stay the course through challenging times.

The awards have a track record of spotlighting some of the country's most transformative entrepreneurs, several of whom have gone on to build listed enterprises. The winners of the 12th edition of The Economic Times Startup Awards will be closely watched by the startup ecosystem and investors, and will likely have a significant impact on the Indian startup landscape.