Prof. Srivardhini K. Jha of IIM Bangalore conferred Best Teacher in Management Award 2026 for excellence in entrepreneurship education
The Bharat Asmita Acharya Shreshtha Award cites her “sustained contributions to education, innovation, and institution-building”
15 December, 2025, Bengaluru: Prof. Srivardhini K. Jha, Professor of Entrepreneurship at IIM Bangalore and Chairperson of NSRCEL, has been invited to accept the Bharat Asmita Acharya Shreshtha – Best Teacher in Management Award 2026 at the Bharat Asmita National Awards ceremony to be held on 3 February 2026.
Instituted in 2005 by MAEER’s MIT Group of Institutions, Pune, the Bharat Asmita National Awards honour individuals whose work has made a sustained and meaningful contribution to nation-building across education, public life, governance, and social impact. Over the years, the awards have come to be regarded among the country’s most prestigious civilian academic and institutional recognitions, given the rigour of the selection process and the stature of past recipients.
In a formal communication, the Board of Trustees of the Maharashtra Academy of Engineering and Educational Research (MAEER) and the Awards Selection Committee cited Prof. Jha’s “exceptional contribution to the field of management education, particularly in entrepreneurship and innovation”, noting her role in shaping academic thought through research and teaching, and practice in entrepreneurial strategy, innovation management, and technology-led enterprise creation. In its citation, the Committee also highlighted Prof. Jha’s leadership of NSRCEL, under which it has grown into one of India’s most influential startup ecosystems, supporting early-stage founders, women-led enterprises, and social impact ventures at scale.
Accepting the honour, Prof. Jha said, “Given the stature of the selection committee and the list of past awardees, I am deeply grateful for this recognition”.
The Awards Selection Committee, chaired by Padma Vibhushan Dr. R. A. Mashelkar, and supported by the Board of Trustees of MAEER, follows an extensive and highly competitive process, inviting over 15,000 nominations annually from across the Union and State governments, the Parliament, academia, judiciary, media, civil society, and industry.
As part of the award ceremony, Prof. Jha has also been invited to offer reflections to an audience of approximately 25,000 students from diverse disciplines on her academic and institution-building journey in service of India’s evolving economic and social priorities.
Prof. Srivardhini K. Jha of IIM Bangalore conferred Best Teacher in Management Award 2026 for excellence in entrepreneurship education
The Bharat Asmita Acharya Shreshtha Award cites her “sustained contributions to education, innovation, and institution-building”
15 December, 2025, Bengaluru: Prof. Srivardhini K. Jha, Professor of Entrepreneurship at IIM Bangalore and Chairperson of NSRCEL, has been invited to accept the Bharat Asmita Acharya Shreshtha – Best Teacher in Management Award 2026 at the Bharat Asmita National Awards ceremony to be held on 3 February 2026.
Instituted in 2005 by MAEER’s MIT Group of Institutions, Pune, the Bharat Asmita National Awards honour individuals whose work has made a sustained and meaningful contribution to nation-building across education, public life, governance, and social impact. Over the years, the awards have come to be regarded among the country’s most prestigious civilian academic and institutional recognitions, given the rigour of the selection process and the stature of past recipients.
In a formal communication, the Board of Trustees of the Maharashtra Academy of Engineering and Educational Research (MAEER) and the Awards Selection Committee cited Prof. Jha’s “exceptional contribution to the field of management education, particularly in entrepreneurship and innovation”, noting her role in shaping academic thought through research and teaching, and practice in entrepreneurial strategy, innovation management, and technology-led enterprise creation. In its citation, the Committee also highlighted Prof. Jha’s leadership of NSRCEL, under which it has grown into one of India’s most influential startup ecosystems, supporting early-stage founders, women-led enterprises, and social impact ventures at scale.
Accepting the honour, Prof. Jha said, “Given the stature of the selection committee and the list of past awardees, I am deeply grateful for this recognition”.
The Awards Selection Committee, chaired by Padma Vibhushan Dr. R. A. Mashelkar, and supported by the Board of Trustees of MAEER, follows an extensive and highly competitive process, inviting over 15,000 nominations annually from across the Union and State governments, the Parliament, academia, judiciary, media, civil society, and industry.
As part of the award ceremony, Prof. Jha has also been invited to offer reflections to an audience of approximately 25,000 students from diverse disciplines on her academic and institution-building journey in service of India’s evolving economic and social priorities.