In 2026, the Youth Co:Lab National Innovation Challenge - a youth-led social innovation and entrepreneurship programme co-led by UNDP India and Citi Foundation, in collaboration with NITI Aayog's Atal Innovation Mission, and implemented by T-Hub, concluded its 8th national cohort since 2019. 
This year's edition focused on three sustainability themes - Sustainable Textiles & Fashion, Circular Economy Innovations, and Sustainable Food Systems & Water Conservation with 350 applications that were narrowed through jury evaluation, a two-month Virtual Incubation (National Springboard), a pitch-based National Innovation Dialogue, and a five-day Regional Immersion bootcamp. 
The six winners: Grassip (natural grass drinking straws), UnBubble (plant-based compostable packaging), Ecorenowa (traceable solar panel recycling), EcoCushion (packaging filler from invasive water hyacinth), Vasudeva Innovations (bio-electrochemical wastewater treatment), and Womenastic (women-led PET plastic recycling) are featured in this compendium that also highlights cohort diversity across the Top 50 and Top 20 startups, noting balanced gender representation, strong participation from states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Telangana, and the dominance of circular economy solutions, which made up roughly 58–65% of entries.