SRINAGAR: Kashmiri youth Hanan Majid has secured admission offers from some of the world’s leading universities, including University of Pennsylvania, New York University, Columbia University and National University of Singapore.
Originally from Srinagar, Hanan began his international academic journey at the age of 15 after earning a full scholarship to attend Wasatch Academy in the United States.
After completing high school, he secured another full scholarship to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Ripon College. During his time in the United States, he developed interests in leadership, community development and behavioural sciences while engaging in a range of social initiatives.
Hanan was involved in housing assistance programmes during the COVID-19 pandemic and worked with organisations supporting the resettlement of Afghan refugee families.
Alongside his community work, he established a career in the real estate sector. By the age of 21, he had reportedly facilitated real estate transactions worth over $10 million and later expanded his professional career to Dubai, where he worked with leading property firms and advised investors.
After nearly seven years in the United States, Hanan returned to India to explore opportunities in the country’s growing startup ecosystem. He subsequently founded Aasta, a platform that enables restaurants and cloud kitchens to sell surplus, high-quality meals at discounted rates, helping reduce food wastage while recovering a portion of operational costs.
His entrepreneurial venture gained national recognition in 2025 when it won a competition organised by TiE Bangalore, one of India’s prominent startup platforms. The achievement brought attention to emerging entrepreneurial talent from Kashmir and highlighted innovative solutions aimed at addressing food waste and sustainability challenges.
Hanan’s academic and entrepreneurial accomplishments have been widely viewed as an inspiring example of youth achievement, innovation and global engagement emerging from Jammu and Kashmir.
