Gaur & Chopra Escape Velocity Grant

Note: we have halted the program (as of January 2023). We wish to expand our efforts and expect to come up with something else in the future.

We’re Aakanksha Gaur and Paras Chopra, a couple living in Bengaluru, India.

We understand that for a young person with high potential, a little bit of money can be life-altering. It can help start a company, fund a project, buy instruments, conduct experiments, or create art.

If you’re under 25 and Rs 50,000 or less can meaningfully change your life, we want to hear from you. Annually, we aim to award this grant to 24 young achievers (12 girls and 12 boys).

So, if Rs 50k can change your life, apply below. We make decisions on applications each month. So, if you’re awarded this grant, we will let you know within 4 weeks of applying. If you don’t hear back from us, feel free to apply again in 3 months.

PS: Grants are only open for Indian citizens. If you’re in the US, you can consider applying for Justin Mares Inflection Grant (from whom this India-focused grant is inspired).

List of winners

July 2021 winners – part 1 and part 2 (5 winners)

August 2021 winners (7 winners)

September 2021 winners – part 1 and part 2 (9 winners)

October 2021 winners (6 winners)

December 2021 winners (6 winners)

January 2022 winners (6 winners)

February 2022 winners (4 winners)

March-May 2022 winners (10 winners)

June 2022 winners (4 winners)

July 2022 winners (5 winners)

August 2022 winners (4 winners)

September 2022 winners (7 winners)

Oct-December 2022 winners (4 winners)