About

Brief bio

Puran Singh is an Associate Professor at the School of Management, IIT Mandi, and one of India’s leading voices on student entrepreneurship. He founded and built IIT Mandi Catalyst, the first technology business incubator in Himachal Pradesh, which supported over 400 startups during his tenure (2016–2023). He leads GUESSS India, the national study of student entrepreneurial intentions and activity, and runs T.Lab, the Entrepreneurial Transformation Lab at the School of Management. He is a co-author of ISBA’s Business Incubation Playbook (2026). His work blends research, policy and on-the-ground ecosystem building, with a focus on entrepreneurial mindset, venture creation and incubation.

Extended bio

Dr. Puran Singh specialises in entrepreneurship and finance. He joined IIT Mandi in 2015 and has been an Associate Professor at the School of Management since 2022. His research examines new venture creation, student entrepreneurship and incubation ecosystems. He began his research career in finance and financial inclusion, and his earlier projects studied the business-correspondent (agent banking) model in rural India. He has developed and taught courses in finance, accounting and entrepreneurship at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels, and his NPTEL course on Financial Accounting has run nationally since 2020.

As founding Faculty-in-charge and Director Incubation of IIT Mandi Catalyst (2016–2023), he set up the incubator from scratch, raised about ₹70 crore from central and state agencies, and helped build the startup ecosystem of the Himalayan region. He served on the Governing Body of the Indian STEPS and Business Incubators’ Association (ISBA) in 2022–23, serves on the CII Northern Region Committee on Startup & Entrepreneurship, and has been Co-convener of the CII Himachal Pradesh Panel on Education & Startups. He has been invited to speak about the state’s startup ecosystem at various events and platforms. He leads GUESSS India in collaboration with the Universities of St.Gallen and Bern, and regularly conducts capacity-building programmes for startups, students, teachers and faculty.

Employment

• 2022–present · Associate Professor, School of Management, IIT Mandi

• 2023–present · Country Delegate, GUESSS India (Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students’ Survey), with the University of St.Gallen and the University of Bern

• 2016–2023 · Founding Faculty-in-charge & Director Incubation, IIT Mandi Catalyst (technology business incubator)

• 2021–2022 · Associate Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Mandi

• 2015–2021 · Assistant Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Mandi

• 2014–2015 · Assistant Professor, Finance, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

• 2013–2014 · Research Associate, Indian School of Business, Hyderabad

• 2012–2013 · Academic Associate, Indian School of Business, Hyderabad

• 2009–2012 · Research Scholar, University Business School, Panjab University, Chandigarh

• 2008–2009 · Analyst, Grail Research India Pvt Ltd

Education

• 2009–2013 · PhD, Finance, University Business School, Panjab University, Chandigarh

• 2006–2008 · MBA, Finance, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla

• 2003–2006 · B.Com, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla (Gold Medal)

Fellowships

• Fellow, Digital Identity Research Initiative, Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, April 2018–2020

• Senior Research Fellowship, University Grants Commission, 2012

• Junior Research Fellowship, University Grants Commission, 2010–2012

Awards

• Best Paper Award, Global Banking and Finance Conference 2026, XLRI Delhi NCR (Feb 2026) — Singh, Deb, Gupta & Kadam, “Banking Agents and Financial Inclusion: Agent Motivation Beyond Financial Compensation”

• Certificate of Merit (Top 10 Cases), 4th AIMA–ICRC Case Writing Competition, All India Management Association (May 2024) — “AI-Connect: Talent-as-a-Service”

• Best Paper Award, International Confluence Conference on Startups and Innovation, DoMS, IIT Madras (Dec 2023) — Jaswal & Singh, “The Emerging Market Separations in Early-Stage Tech Startups”

• Recognised for contribution to the ISBA Governing Body 2022–23, ISBAcon 2023, Mumbai

• Excellence in Teaching, Teaching Honours Award 2021, IIT Mandi

• Significant and effective contribution in setting up Catalyst, IIT Mandi’s TBI, Foundation Day Awards 2018, IIT Mandi

• Excellence in Teaching, Teaching Honours Award 2017, IIT Mandi

• IIM Raipur – ET Cases Award for a case showcasing a futuristic and progressive idea, Global Summit on Management Cases, 2014

• Excellent Contribution by an Academic Associate, Annual Awards 2012–13, Indian School of Business

• Gold Medal, B.Com, Himachal Pradesh University, 2006

Boards, committees and professional bodies

• Chairperson, Departmental Doctoral Committee and PhD Admission Committee, School of Management, IIT Mandi, 2026–

• Member, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Cell Advisory Committee, IIFM Bhopal, 2026–

• Member, ISBA Knowledge & Resource Centre, 2025–

• Member, CII Southern Region Task Force on Innovation & Startup Ecosystem, 2025–26

• Member, Advisory Board, Centre for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Technology, Fortune Institute of International Business (FIIB), 2025–

• Member, Committee on Curriculum Design of FDPs on Entrepreneurship, Ministry of Education, 2025

• Member, Board of Governors, Uttisthati Foundation (i-TBI), NIT Hamirpur, 2024–

• Distinguished Member, CII Northern Region Committee on Startups, 2024–25

• Member, CII Northern Region Committee on Startup & Entrepreneurship, 2022–23 and 2023–24

• Member, Governing Body, Indian STEPS and Business Incubators’ Association (ISBA), 2022–2023

• Member, CII Startup Panel, Himachal Pradesh, 2022–2023

• Co-convener, CII Himachal Pradesh Panel on Education & Startups

• Founding Member, Global Association of Financial and Entrepreneurial Research (GAFER), 2022–

• Member, committee that drafted the IIT Mandi Entrepreneurship Policy, 2019