Bangalore: The Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT-K) has launched an entrepreneurship drive which will cover 10 cities in 10 days to inspire young people to start their own businesses. The program aims to reach about 5,000 students in Chandigarh, Delhi, Lucknow, Bhopal, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Bhubaneswar and Kharagpur. "We have already created avenues of funding for small companies in IIT Kharagpur and we wanted to create a platform that would allow all students to utilise it," said D.P. Ankit, Member of Entrepreneurship Cell. The project was started on Tuesday at the Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh and the Dayanandsagar College of Engineering, Bangalore. "We are showcasing college startups and highlighting stories of college dropouts who became successful businessmen. Then there are case studies on people who have ventured into business after working for 20 or 25 years," said Ankit. The speakers in the program comprise of Pramod Rao, Co-Founder, Elitwit; Gerard J. Rego, Founder and CEO, Vayugrid; Murugavel Janakiraman, Founder, bharatmatrimony.com and Rama Devi, Founder and Chairman, Association of Lady Entrepreneurs in Andhra Pradesh. The entrepreneurship cell will not host the workshops on IIT campuses to spread awareness among a wider audience. The institute has also introduced a system of postponed placement where students who launch their own businesses can opt for campus placements after a period of two years, if the venture does not take off. The drive will come to an end on October 8 at IIT Kharagpur and an entrepreneurship summit will be organized in January.