Bhatkal students’ startup wins NexGen Skills Shapers Award at India’s Iconic Business Awards
Bengaluru: Alliance ProLearn Private Limited, a startup founded by two young students from Bhatkal, has bagged the NexGen Skills Shapers Award 2025 at the 16th edition of India’s Business Iconic Awards held at the White Pearl ASR Convention Centre, Yelahanka, Bengaluru.
The startup, co-founded by Mohammed Ismail and Mohammed Meera Mohtesham, focuses on upskilling school and college students in 21st-century skillsets including Robotics, Electronics, Coding, Artificial Intelligence, Drone Technologies, and even non-tech skills like Martial Arts. The initiative, which started with a vision to empower young learners with practical knowledge, has now been recognised at the national stage for its innovative approach.
Both Ismail, who is pursuing M.Tech in Robotics and Industrial Automation at MIT, Manipal, and Meera, currently studying Electronics Engineering at AITM, Bhatkal, dedicated the award to their late mentor Mohtesham Mohammed Yaseen (Yaseen sir) who passed away recently, recalling his guidance and encouragement in shaping the initiative.
In an official note, the founders described the award as a “dream turned into reality,” crediting their late-night brainstorming sessions, the hurdles they overcame, and the belief that skills can transform lives. They also expressed gratitude to their team members, learners who placed trust in them, and well-wishers who supported the journey.
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Women's quota bill would have ensured defeat of democracy, Constitution: Aaditya Thackeray
Mumbai (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday said that the passage of the women's quota bill would have ensured a "total defeat of democracy", alleging that the legislation, linked with a delimitation exercise, was a political tool designed to reduce the voice of states.
Thackeray, in a post on X, claimed that the Bill would have amended the Constitution for the political means of the ruling regime to increase seats, reduce the voice of many states and enable the gerrymandering of constituencies to ensure unfair victories.
"The very amendment that would have ensured the total defeat of democracy and the Constitution in India stands rejected by the unity of the Opposition MPs," he wrote.
The legislation should have been called "Delimitation to ensure unfair victory Bill", the former minister said, adding that there was a genuine need to enable 33 per cent reservation for women in the current number of seats.
"Now, it is up to the government to ensure that it is implemented in the 543 seats of the Lok Sabha for the 2029 elections and all elections across India, if that is the real intent of the government," he wrote.
A Constitution Amendment Bill to implement reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats was defeated on Friday in the Lower House.
While 298 members voted in support of the Bill, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the Bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority.
According to the Constitution Amendment Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
