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- Director, Registrar praise students for innovation, entrepreneurship
SRINAGAR: In an attempt to bring India’s unorganised construction labour sector online, two fourth-year students of National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar have launched a startup that connects labourers, contractors and customers through a digital platform modeled around traditional labour chowks.
The startup, “BigBrick,” founded by Saurabh Kumar from the Civil Engineering Department and Aryan Kumar from the Mechanical Engineering Department, is being described as India’s first digital platform focused exclusively on labour chowks and construction workforce management.
According to the founders, BigBrick has already onboarded more than 2,500 construction workers across Srinagar, Jammu, and Katra, creating direct connections between workers, contractors, and customers.
At a time when thousands of labourers across the country continue to depend on roadside labour markets for daily work, the startup aims to bring transparency, accessibility, and organized hiring into the sector through digital intervention.
So far, the startup has generated revenue worth ₹11 lakh and recently received a funding offer at a valuation of ₹3 crore from Mumbai based company, second officer of ₹40 lakh by another venture, marking a rare success story emerging from a student-led venture in Kashmir.
BigBrick has also been incubated and funded by the NewGen IEDC, University of Kashmir, and was awarded the “Best Startup Idea” during the IDE Bootcamp for its innovation and market potential.
The core team behind the venture also includes Yashas Naidu, Vivek Kumar, Munmun Naresh, Raj Kumar & Vijay Kumar, who played a key role in scaling operations and expanding worker outreach.
In his message, Director NIT Srinagar, Prof. Binod Kumar Kanaujia congratulated the students for their achievement and said Institute is committed to promoting innovation and entrepreneurship among young minds.
“This achievement reflects the innovative spirit and entrepreneurial potential of our students. Startups like BigBrick demonstrate how technology can be used to address real societal and economic challenges,” he said.
Registrar, Prof. Atikur Rehman also appreciated the initiative and said such success stories inspire other students to think beyond conventional career paths.
“It is encouraging to see our students building impactful ventures with real-world applications. Such initiatives not only create employment opportunities but also strengthen the startup ecosystem of the region,” he said.
Saurabh Kumar, Co-Founder of BigBrick said the aim of the startup is to organize the unorganized labour sector through technology and create a transparent system where workers can access employment opportunities with dignity.
“Construction workers are the backbone of infrastructure development, yet a majority of them still depend on informal systems for employment. Through BigBrick, we wanted to build a reliable platform that directly connects workers with contractors and customers,” he added.
Another Co-Founder of BigBrick , Aryan Kumar, said that startup was born out of the need to solve real challenges faced by daily wage workers in the construction sector.
“We observed that thousands of skilled labourers still depend on informal roadside hiring systems despite the rapid growth of the digital economy. BigBrick is our effort to bridge that gap by creating a reliable and accessible platform for both workers and contractors,” he said.
