From Campus Innovation to AgriTech Breakthrough: Chandigarh University Students' 'Green Heart' Wins NASSCOM's Best Startup Award
CHANDIGARH, India, Aug. 11, 2026 -- A Chandigarh University student startup has secured the Best Startup Award, along with a Rs 5,00,000 grant for its Al-driven smart agriculture technology platform 'GreenHeart' at 'Neovation 2026' (ThingQbator), a prestigious innovation and startup incubation initiative organized by NASSCOM, the apex body representing India's $250-billion technology sector.
Founded by three Chandigarh University students including Garvit Saluja (Founder), Aditya Bhandari and Prakhar Nautiyal (both Co-Founders), all final-year students of B Tech in Computer Science and Engineering (Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AIML)), this tech-enabled platform 'GreenHeart' has been designed to improve farm productivity and sustainability using data-driven insights, reduce water, fertilizer, and pesticide usage and detect crop stress and diseases. Besides winning Neovation 2026, this Startup also represented Chandigarh University as a finalist in the Smart India Hackathon (SIH) 2025.
Besides using real-time sensors for environmental monitoring and data collection with IoT and 5G integration, this platform processes satellite data to provide personalized recommendations for crops, fertilizers, and pest detection. This platform features a user-friendly, multilingual interface to ensure it is usable for farmers across different regions.
"Our startup is a kind of research lab for AI and hardware research. We are currently working on multiple products including a soil analysis device to measure key soil parameters including NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium) levels, soil fertility, electrical conductivity, and soil sensitivity for helping farmers make informed decisions to improve crop productivity. Our water quality monitoring device evaluates critical water parameters including heavy metal concentration, turbidity and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS). We have also designed an autonomous submarine system designed to operate in canals. It moves independently through the water and detects micro plastics present in the canal, helping monitor water pollution. We are among the first companies in India to develop such a system. Prototype of these products has been developed and successfully tested in real-world or field conditions," Garvit Saluja said.
Green Heart Co-Founder, Aditya Bhandari said Green Heart is undertaking a pilot project to test its hardware products in agriculture fields. "Besides testing our products in multiple locations, at present we are working on a pilot project with 50 farmers in Ropar and Ludhiana to test Green Heart hardware devices. We collect the data from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites which are part of the Copernicus program (ESA) and provide free, open-access satellite data via APIs like Sentinel Hub or Google Earth Engine. From Sentinel-2 (optical imagery with 10-meter resolution), we compute vegetation indices such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to monitor crop health and vegetation density. Additionally, from Sentinel-1 (SAR radar), we obtain backscatter data that helps estimate surface soil moisture and works reliably even under cloud cover, which is critical for continuous monitoring in agricultural regions. This satellite data provides spatial, large-scale validation and continuous crop condition monitoring, which complements point-based sensor data and ultimately improves the overall accuracy of agricultural decision-making," Aditya Bhandari said.
"After that, we use our own AI models to analyse this combined data and generate detailed reports for farmers, recommending which crops are best suited for their soil and environmental conditions. We also perform weather prediction and provide farmers with actionable recommendations with the help of multiple data sources, including satellite imagery, sensor data, and historical weather patterns. So, if a farmer is currently growing a certain crop, our system may suggest an alternative crop that is better suited to the field conditions. By following these recommendations, farmers can potentially increase their crop yield and profit margins by approximately 15 to 20%. Our startup 4 to 5% from that profit farmers make on their total investments in a field on the basis of our recommendations," he added.
Prakhar Nautiyal, Co-Founder Green Heart, said, "We chose AgriTech as our major focus because agriculture plays a very significant role in India. More than 50% of India's population is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture, making it one of the most important sectors in the country. The AgriTech market in India, valued at around $450 million, is growing rapidly and offers huge opportunities for innovation."
"As a student of Chandigarh University, we used to participate in hackathons which introduced us to the startup ecosystem. As we were competing with startups that were already generating revenue of around Rs 1.5 Crore, this inspired us to build a Startup of our own. Then we received support from a government-backed MeitY seed fund of Rs 7 lakh, which became the starting point of our startup journey. Since then, it has been around one year and we have been continuously developing in multiple sectors, including AgriTech and logistics. For this, we always got the encouragement from all our teachers and higher management of the university," said Garvit Saluja.
Congratulating Garvit Saluja, Aditya Bhandari and Prakhar Nautiyal, Deepinder Singh Sandhu, Senior Managing Director, Chandigarh University said, "Chandigarh University's promotes the culture of creating the jobs by nurturing entrepreneurship skills among students. The participation of these students in NEOVATION (ThingQbator), organized by NASSCOM, marked a significant milestone in their entrepreneurial journey. The achievement of securing the Best Startup Award, along with a Rs 5 lakh grant, highlights their innovation, execution capability, and startup potential. It's even more satisfying that these students have founded Startup for developing Al-driven smart agriculture technology and contributing meaningfully to the innovation landscape at both national and global levels."
"As a Research-Intensive University, Chandigarh University remains focused on research and innovation by fostering an entrepreneurial ecosystem which encourages its students for innovating new technologies and unlock boundless opportunities for growth. Ever since the inception of the Chandigarh University, CU students have created over 250 Start-Ups. Chandigarh University's Technology Business Incubator (CU-TBI) is mobilising Rs 5 crore to catalyze growth in the startup ecosystem at CU," Sandhu added.
Chandigarh University
Chandigarh University is a NAAC A+ Grade University and QS World Ranked University. This autonomous educational institution is approved by UGC and is located near Chandigarh in the state of Punjab. It is the youngest university in India and the only private university in Punjab to be honoured with A+ Grade by NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council). CU offers more than 109 UG and PG programs in the field of engineering, management, pharmacy, law, architecture, journalism, animation, hotel management, commerce, and others. It has been awarded as The University with Best Placements by WCRC.
Website address: https://www.cuchd.in/
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