Growth, Jobs and Enterprise: Experts select Outstanding Grampreneurs® for BYST JRD Tata Awards 2026

NEW DELHI, Sept. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- India's micro enterprises form the backbone of the MSME sector, with over 9.55 crore micro enterprises accounting for 99.3% of registered MSMEs and contributing to more than 41 crore jobs. The role of grassroots enterprises in driving jobs and local economic growth is reflected in the pan-India selection of 14 entrepreneurs assessed by the jury for the BYST JRD Tata Awards 2026, including five women entrepreneurs. Their businesses have collectively created nearly 425 direct jobs. The shortlisted Grampreneurs® come from across India and operate across sectors including manufacturing, food processing, agri-business, farm technology, recycling and industrial solutions.

The JRD Tata Awards were instituted by BYST in 1995 as a tribute to its Founding Chairman, Bharat Ratna Shri JRD Tata, to recognise outstanding grassroots entrepreneurs. Many of this year's shortlisted Grampreneurs® began their journeys with limited personal savings or by investing personal assets and faced challenges in accessing formal finance in the early stages of their businesses. Today, their enterprises supply to large companies, create employment in their local communities and, in several cases, have expanded into international markets.

The JRD Tata Awards carry a special significance. They associate the name and values of one of India's greatest industrial visionaries with first-generation entrepreneurs at the grassroots. In doing so, they recognise that entrepreneurial excellence is not defined by the size of an enterprise, but by the vision, integrity, innovation and employment it creates. 

Significantly, the Awards bring the name and legacy of one of India's most respected industrial leaders to the country's emerging micro entrepreneurs, celebrating excellence at the grassroots and reinforcing the belief that world-class enterprise can begin in the smallest of towns and villages.

The jury reviewed the shortlisted entrepreneurs across three categories: Entrepreneur of the Year - 2026, Woman Entrepreneur-2026 and Fastest Growing Entrepreneur of the Year-2026. The assessment focused on key parameters including business growth, profitability, loan repayment, jobs created, contribution to the local economy, exports and use of technology, among others. The jury was chaired by Prof. S. Mahendra Dev, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India, with Mr. Sunil Kant Munjal, Chairman, Hero Enterprise, as Co-Chair. Other jury members included Mr. Vikas Swarup, former Diplomat and Writer; Prof. K.K. Pant, Director, IIT Roorkee; Mr. Madan Pillutla, Dean and Professor, Organisational Behaviour, Indian School of Business (ISB); Mr. Harish Krishnan, Managing Director & Chief Policy Officer, Cisco South and Southeast Asia; Ms. Brahmani Nara, Executive Director, Heritage Foods Limited; and Mr. Rahul Kanwal, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, NDTV.

Ms. Lakshmi V. Venkatesan, Founding and Managing Trustee, BYST, said, "Micro-enterprises can play a much larger role in India's economic growth by creating jobs and economic opportunities across small towns and rural areas. With the right finance, markets and especially mentoring, many of these enterprises have the potential to grow from self-employment into sustainable businesses that create many more jobs. JRD Tata's name is synonymous with visionary leadership and some of India's enduring industrial powerhouses, and the JRD Tata Awards carry forward this legacy by recognising grassroots entrepreneurs who are building sustainable businesses and creating jobs."

The Awards also recognise the role of mentors who have supported entrepreneurs in areas such as finance, production, business planning, market access, hiring and growth. This mentor-entrepreneur relationship, based on the age old 'Guru-Shishya Parampara' (master-disciple tradition), remains an important part of BYST's approach to helping first-generation entrepreneurs build and sustain their businesses.

BYST has supported more than 72,000 entrepreneurs since its inception in 1992. The selection process for the JRD Tata Awards includes nominations from Grampreneurs® supported by BYST across the country, with adequate due diligence that includes on the ground verifications, review by a national-level committee and placed for the final review by the Awards jury.

The winners of the JRD Tata Awards 2026 will be recognised at a national level awards ceremony to be held shortly.

About Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST):  

For the past three decades, BYST has been creating economic opportunities for young men and women from underserved sections of Indian society. BYST assists youth in developing business ideas into viable enterprises under the guidance of mentors, fostering a transition from job seekers to job creators. To date, BYST-mentored Grampreneurs have generated over 5 lakh employment opportunities (direct & indirect) and facilitated over Rs. 1000 crores as Bank finance across the country.