Mohali, Punjab, June 11: The Entrepreneurship & Startup Support Cell (ESSC) of Rayat Bahra University (RBU) has signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Shukra Pharmaceuticals Limited, a publicly listed pharmaceutical company, committing ₹10 lakh in seed capital alongside incubation services and expert mentorship for student-led ventures. The agreement, formalised in New Delhi, marks a rare example of a corporate entity providing a named pre-seed fund directly to a university startup cell outside India’s major metro hubs.
The collaboration will support student ventures across healthcare, pharmaceuticals, medical technology, agriculture, and biotechnology, providing direct industry exposure for RBU’s School of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Students will gain access to manufacturing insights, patent development, regulatory affairs, and innovation challenges, bridging the gap between academic research and commercial enterprise.
Amandeep Bhalla, Vice President (Advanced Surgical) Shukra Pharmaceuticals Ltd. said, “While innovation is turning a powerful idea into a solution, Entrepreneurship is turning that solution into an Ecosystem. We want our youth to look at complex global problems and see viable startup opportunities.”
Gurvinder Singh Bahra, Chancellor, Rayat Bahra University, added “This partnership reflects our vision of building an innovation-driven ecosystem where students are not only prepared for employment but are empowered to become job creators, researchers, and entrepreneurs. It is a milestone in strengthening industry-academia collaboration in Northern India.”
“Under the MoU, RBU (ESSC) and Shukra Pharmaceuticals will jointly organise startup boot camps, hackathons, entrepreneurship development programmes, faculty workshops, and innovation challenges to identify and nurture high-potential projects. The collaboration will also facilitate joint research initiatives, consultancy projects, and participation in funded programmes aligned with healthcare innovation and pharmaceutical entrepreneurship.” said Dr. Simmi Prakash, Group Director, ESSC, Rayat Bahra University.
India’s pharmaceutical sector is undergoing a major transformation, with initiatives such as the National Biopharma Mission and the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme driving innovation and research capacity. The country already contributes nearly 20% of global generic medicines and meets about 70% of global vaccine demand, underscoring its role as the “pharmacy of the world.” At the same time, the global biosimilars market is projected to exceed $60 billion by 2030, creating new opportunities for universities to align with industry in advanced therapies, biotechnology, and innovation-driven education.
Guided by the National Education Policy (NEP 2020), higher education institutions are moving rapidly toward translational research and institutional patent portfolios. In this context, the Rayat Bahra–Shukra partnership which was initiated under the active guidance of the focussed leadership of Prof. (Dr.) Sanjay Kumar, Vice Chancellor, Rayat Bahra University
reflects a national trend of deepening industry-academia collaboration, ensuring that students gain exposure to cutting-edge areas such as biologics, biosimilars, AI-driven drug discovery, and regulatory sciences, while bridging classroom learning with industrial product cycles.