From building aircraft in college workshops to creating India’s largest state startup fund—Mahip Singh’s journey proves that one person with unstoppable determination can transform an entire state’s future
THE MIDNIGHT CALL THAT SPARKED A REVOLUTION
It was 2:47 AM when a phone call shattered the silence of a humid July night in 2020. A father’s trembling voice carried unbearable pain: “Sir… my daughter… the ceiling fan… we found her just in time.”
For most people, such a call would bring shock and sympathy. For Mahip Singh, it brought action.
That night, while COVID-19 ravaged India and the nation slept in fear, Mahip couldn’t close his eyes. He stared at his own ceiling fan, and a question burned through his engineering mind: What if a fan could refuse to become an instrument of someone’s final despair?
By dawn, seventeen pages of his notebook were filled with sketches and calculations. Six weeks later, the Smart Down Rod was born—a brilliantly simple device that prevents ceiling fan suicides while making them easier to clean. Life-saving. Practical. Quintessentially Mahip.
“That night taught me the truth about innovation,” recalls Mahip Singh, now Head of Innovation Hub at Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU). “The greatest inventions aren’t born from the desire for profit. They’re born from the inability to accept pain as inevitable.”
This is the story of a man who doesn’t just solve problems—he saves lives, transforms ecosystems, and is single-handedly proving that Uttar Pradesh can become India’s next innovation capital.
FROM GWALIOR WORKSHOP TO NASA GLORY
The Boy Who Built Wings
Long before the accolades and achievements, there was a boy in a cramped Gwalior workshop attempting something his professors dismissed as “impossible.” The year was 2007, and Mahip Singh, then a mechanical engineering student at Maharana Pratap College of Technology, was building a single-seater aircraft.
Money was so tight that he often faced a choice: buy materials for his aircraft or buy lunch. He chose the aircraft. Every single time.
“I had this fire inside me that whispered every day: If the Wright brothers could do it with bicycle parts, why can’t you?” Mahip remembers, his eyes carrying both pride and nostalgia.
When that aircraft stood complete—ready to touch the sky—young Mahip discovered his life’s defining philosophy:
“Resources are limited, but human potential is not. The real poverty isn’t in your pocket—it’s in accepting that you cannot.”
The Competition Circuit
From 2006 to 2009, Mahip became a force on India’s technical competition circuit:
- First Prize at IIT Bombay’s Techfest (2008)
- Best Designer Award at IIT Kanpur’s Techkriti (2007)
- First Position in Robo Crane Assembly, Robotics Institute Mumbai (2006)
- Multiple wins across IIT competitions
Each victory proved one truth: excellence recognizes no zip code.
The NASA Moment That Made India Proud
March 2013. Huntsville, Alabama. The NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge brought together the world’s elite engineering minds—teams from MIT, Stanford, and universities with century-old spaceflight heritage.
Among them: Mahip’s team of students from a college in Greater Noida.
Before departure, Mahip gathered his students with words that would define their journey:
“You’re not going to participate. You’re going to prove that talent knows no borders and determination beats privilege every single time. You represent every kid from every small town who’s been told they’re not good enough. Go show the world what we’re made of.”
They returned with the Lunar-Tic Award—recognition among the world’s best. When news reached India, it wasn’t just celebration. It was validation for every dreamer who starts with nothing but refuses to end with nothing.
“That NASA win proved something I’ve always believed,” Mahip states firmly. “The only thing standing between you and your biggest dream is the decision to start building it.”
COVID-19: WHEN OTHERS FROZE, HE INNOVATED
March 2020. India locked down. Hospitals drowned in patients. Healthcare workers collapsed from exhaustion.
While most watched helplessly, Mahip converted a corner of his home into a workshop and went to work.
A video call with a doctor at KGMU Hospital, Lucknow, changed everything. She was crying inside her PPE suit after fourteen hours: “We’re losing patients because we can’t monitor everyone.”
Within weeks, Mahip created:
- Hospital Assisting Robot — Monitoring 7 beds simultaneously, deployed at KGMU and RML Hospital, Lucknow
- Rapid Currency Disinfector — Keeping the economy moving safely
- Multipurpose Household Sanitizer Unit — Hospital-grade protection for homes
“Innovation isn’t about fancy technology,” Mahip reflects. “Sometimes it’s simply about looking at suffering and refusing to look away.”
JANUARY 17, 2022: THE REVOLUTION BEGINS
When Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University appointed Mahip Singh as Head of their Innovation Hub, most saw a prestigious position. Mahip saw a launchpad for revolution.
On his first day, staring at the Uttar Pradesh map in his office, he made a declaration:
“I’m not here to maintain the system. I’m here to disrupt it, rebuild it, and make it work for every dreamer in this state.”
What happened next has stunned the startup ecosystem nationwide.
THE ₹1400 CRORE GAME CHANGER
India’s Largest State Startup Fund
February 2023. During the Global Investors Summit, while other states competed for investment in existing companies, Mahip pitched something audacious: a massive fund for companies that didn’t exist yet—for startups sleeping in students’ minds, for innovations sketched on notebook backs.
Many called him unrealistic. Mahip kept pushing.
The result: The Uttar Pradesh Startup Fund—₹1,400 crore dedicated exclusively to nurturing startups. One of India’s largest state-level startup funds.
“When that was announced, I didn’t celebrate,” Mahip admits. “I felt the weight of responsibility. That’s not just money. That’s hope. That’s thousands of startups getting their shot. That’s millions of lives about to change. Now comes the real work.”
Impact Snapshot:
- ₹1,400 crore available for UP startups
- Benefiting 75 districts across the state
- Supporting all stages from ideation to scale-up
- Sector-agnostic funding approach
ONE DISTRICT, ONE INCUBATOR: THE AUDACIOUS VISION
Most states concentrate incubation support in major cities. Mahip asked a radical question: “Why should a brilliant student in Varanasi have to move to Delhi for support? We need to bring the ecosystem to them.”
His answer: Incubation centers in all 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh.
People said impossible. Mahip’s response: “Impossibility is just a negotiation. Let’s figure out what’s possible and then push beyond it.”
Current Status:
- 100+ pre-incubation centers — Operational across AKTU-affiliated institutions
- 200 more centers — In development pipeline
- 75 districts — Complete coverage planned
- Every district — Becoming an innovation hub
“I get messages every day,” Mahip shares. “A girl from eastern UP launched her ed-tech startup. A boy from western UP builds agricultural drones. A team from central UP works on water purification. They all say: ‘Sir, we didn’t think this was possible for people like us.’ And I tell them: It was always possible. You just needed someone to believe in you until you believed in yourself.“
DEMOCRATIZING INNOVATION: THE STATE PATENT CENTER
Patents are expensive. The process is intimidating. For most student innovators, protecting intellectual property feels like an unaffordable luxury—until now.
Mahip established the State Patent Center at AKTU—offering completely FREE advanced IPR support to all innovators in Uttar Pradesh.
“When you have a brilliant idea but can’t protect it, someone with more resources can steal it,” Mahip explains. “That’s not just unfair. That’s a tragedy. Innovation without protection is like building a house without walls.”
Students who thought patents were only for corporations are now filing applications. Teachers are protecting their research. Dreams are being secured, one patent at a time.
THE 2030 VISION: BOLD, AUDACIOUS, ACHIEVABLE
When asked about his vision for Uttar Pradesh by 2030, Mahip’s response is characteristically ambitious:
“I see an Uttar Pradesh where every district has a thriving startup ecosystem. Where a girl in Bahraich has the same opportunities as one in Bangalore. Where ‘Made in UP’ becomes a global innovation brand. Where parents tell their children, ‘Stay in UP—this is where the future is being built.'”
But it’s bigger than economics:
“I see young people believing they’re creators, not just workers. A culture where failure isn’t shameful but educational. Where trying and failing is celebrated more than never trying at all. That’s the UP I’m building—not just prosperous, but BOLD.“
THE MESSAGE EVERY ENTREPRENEUR NEEDS TO HEAR
In an exclusive conversation with StartupFeed, Mahip shared a message for every dreamer, every aspiring entrepreneur, every student sitting in a small town wondering if they have what it takes:
“Your background doesn’t write your story—your determination does. I didn’t come from IIT. I didn’t have rich parents. I didn’t have connections. What I had was a refusal to let circumstances define my destination. If I could build this starting from where I started, SO CAN YOU.”
“Stop waiting for the perfect time, perfect resources, perfect conditions. They don’t exist. Start NOW. With what you have. Where you are. Build your first prototype with whatever you can afford. Take the first step even if you can’t see the entire path.”
“And when people say it’s impossible—and they will—SMILE. Keep building. Because impossible is just a challenge waiting for the right person. Maybe you’re that person. Maybe this is YOUR moment. But you’ll never know unless you TRY.”
His voice rises with conviction:
“The Innovation Hub is open. The State Patent Center is waiting. Incubation centers across UP are ready. We have ₹1,400 crore. We have mentorship. We have infrastructure. What we need is YOUR COURAGE. Your willingness to LEAP.”
“Don’t let your dreams die in notebooks. Don’t let fear steal what courage could build. COME. Let’s prove the next unicorn doesn’t need to come from Silicon Valley. It can come from YOUR VILLAGE. YOUR TOWN. YOUR COLLEGE.”
The final declaration:
“I believe in you. Now believe in yourself. Then together, we’ll build something that makes the world stop and stare.”
BOTTOM LINE
Mahip Singh’s story isn’t just about one man’s achievements. It’s about what becomes possible when passion meets purpose, when innovation meets compassion, and when one person decides that changing the world isn’t optional—it’s their duty.
Fifteen years ago, a boy from Gwalior built an aircraft in a college workshop and decided that limitations were just suggestions. Today, that boy is building an ecosystem that will launch thousands of dreams into the stratosphere of success.
The revolution has begun. The infrastructure is ready. The funds are available. The support is real.
The only question remaining: Are YOU brave enough to try?
WHAT’S NEXT FOR MAHIP SINGH?
When asked about his next moves, Mahip remains characteristically focused:
“Every single day brings new challenges and opportunities. Right now, we’re scaling the incubation centers rapidly. We’re processing patent applications. We’re evaluating startup pitches. We’re mentoring hundreds of students. But the work never stops because the dreams never stop.”
He pauses, then adds with characteristic intensity:
“I am not building monuments to myself. I am building launchpads for a million dreams. Every incubation center, every patent filed, every startup funded—they’re not my legacy. They’re someone else’s beginning. True success isn’t measured by what you achieve. It’s measured by what you make possible for others.”
