No prelims. Just direct case rounds for ₹5,00,000 and a PPI.
ReLead 9.0 is ReNew's flagship MBA case competition, and this season it strips away the noise. There are no aptitude prelims, no elimination quizzes, no wildcard filters. You register, you receive a live business problem, and you solve it. The winner walks away with ₹5,00,000 plus a pre-placement interview, and the first runner-up takes ₹3,00,000 plus a PPI. If you are a first or second year MBA student at one of the listed campuses, this is one of the highest stakes case competitions of the year.
Where the season stands
ReLead 9.0 is hosted on Unstop and is open to teams of three members from the same institute. Both first and second year students from the listed flagship programmes can compete. The format is direct case rounds, which means your submission is your only audition. Make sure you confirm the latest deadlines on the official Unstop listing, because ReNew has historically kept a tight window between registration closure and submission.
What is actually on the table
The cash is large, but the PPI is the career move
Winners
₹5,00,000
First Runners-Up
₹3,00,000
The headline is not just the ₹8,00,000 combined prize pool. It is the pre-placement interview line for both the winning team and the first runner-up team. ReNew uses ReLead as a serious hiring funnel, and the PPI can convert into summer internship or full-time opportunities depending on your programme year and performance.
For a case competition with no prelims, that is an unusually direct path from registration to interview. Your deck is your resume, your recommendation is your cover letter, and the jury is effectively your first round of interviews. That is why the quality of your submission matters more than the quantity of competitions you have done before.
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Team format
Exactly 3 members per team. All three members must be from the same institute. Cross-college teams are not allowed.
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Who is eligible
First and second year students of the listed two year flagship MBA programmes. Check the official listing for the exact batch and programme rules.
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Submission deck
Up to 10 slides for the main presentation, plus a 2-slide executive summary. You may include up to 20 appendix slides for supporting data and annexures.
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Rewards beyond cash
PPI opportunities for the winning team and the first runner-up team, with potential conversion into summer or full-time roles.
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Format advantage
No prelims. You do not need to clear an aptitude test first. Your case submission is your first and main evaluation.
Where you can compete from
A closed list of top campuses, and the competition is your own batch
ReLead 9.0 is a closed campus competition. ReNew has named the eligible institutes explicitly, and your real competition is the strongest team sitting in your own classroom.
Because the shortlist is campus specific, you do not need to be the best case team in the country. You need to be the best case team in your batch, and then survive the national evaluation. That changes how you prepare. Spend less time worrying about national competition and more time building a submission that would win inside your own institute.
The deliverable structure
A 2-slide summary, a 10-slide deck, and room for proof
1
Executive summary · 2 slides
Your entire recommendation in two slides
The executive summary is the first thing the jury sees. It should contain the problem framing, your core insight, the recommendation, and the expected impact. If the jury only reads these two slides, they should still understand what you are proposing and why it matters.
Treat the summary as a standalone pitch. Use one slide for the problem and recommendation, and the second for financial or impact proof. Do not hide the answer in the appendix.
2
Main presentation · up to 10 slides
The full story, tightly bounded
The main deck is where you build the case. Ten slides is enough for situation, problem, analysis, options, recommendation, implementation, risk and financials. The constraint forces you to cut fluff and keep every slide earning its place.
Use a one-page appendix rule. If a chart, assumption or calculation does not fit cleanly on a slide, move it to the appendix and reference it by number in the main deck.
3
Appendix · up to 20 slides
Proof, not padding
The appendix is for supporting data, detailed assumptions, sensitivity analysis, references and backup calculations. It does not count against your main slide limit, but it will be read if the jury wants to test your numbers.
Make every appendix slide scannable. Use clear titles, source citations and rounded numbers. The jury should be able to find the answer to a challenge within thirty seconds.
Two constraints that decide your score
Slide discipline and institute alignment
The executive summary is strictly two slides. The main deck is strictly ten slides. All three team members must be from the same institute. These are non negotiable, and in a competition where everyone receives the same case, compliance and clarity are themselves filters.
What ReNew is really scoring
ReNew is a leading decarbonisation and green energy solutions company. Its business sits at the intersection of renewable power, energy transition and large infrastructure execution. The cases in previous editions have focused on core strategy with some finance-specific problems around the energy sector.
That means your submission should not read like a generic consulting deck. It should demonstrate that you understand how strategy, finance and sustainability trade-offs interact in the energy business. The jury wants to see whether you can think like a leadership team that builds and operates renewable energy assets at scale.
Understanding the company you are pitching to
ReNew is a green energy and decarbonisation leader
ReNew is one of India's largest renewable energy companies and a significant player globally in clean power and decarbonisation solutions. Its work spans solar, wind, energy storage, green hydrogen and corporate power purchase agreements. The company operates at the intersection of infrastructure, capital markets and climate policy.
That context matters because ReLead cases are likely built around real decisions ReNew faces. How do you allocate capital across solar and wind? How do you price a power purchase agreement? How do you enter a new geography or technology? How do you manage project execution risk or regulatory change? How do you balance growth and returns?
Your case should therefore speak the language of energy strategy. Unit economics, capacity utilisation, tariff structures, debt sizing, offtake risk, land and transmission bottlenecks, and policy tailwinds are all plausible levers. The winning submission will not just recommend a direction. It will defend the numbers behind it.
Six moves that separate finalists
How to build a ReLead deck that feels like a ReNew board memo
1
Staff the team for strategy and finance depth
Cases have historically focused on core strategy with finance-specific problems around the energy sector. You need at least one member who can build and defend a financial model, and one who can frame a strategic recommendation clearly.
2
Start with the two-slide executive summary
Do not write the main deck first. Write the two-slide summary first. If you cannot fit your recommendation into two slides, your thinking is not tight enough. The summary becomes your North Star for the rest of the submission.
3
Make every main slide pass the "so what" test
Ten slides is generous only if each one advances the argument. After drafting, ask "so what?" for every slide. If the answer is weak, merge it, move it to the appendix, or delete it.
4
Anchor numbers to real energy assumptions
A generic market size will lose to a specific capacity, tariff, capacity utilisation factor and debt tenure assumption. Show that you understand how renewable energy projects are actually built and financed.
5
Name risks and how you would mitigate them
Energy projects live with execution, offtake, regulatory and financing risks. A winning submission identifies the biggest risk, quantifies it where possible, and explains how ReNew should manage it.
6
Rehearse the Q and A before you submit
Write down the ten hardest questions your assumptions invite. Answer each in under a minute out loud. Know which number you would defend and which you would revise. The jury will test whether your recommendation survives a challenge.
Resources worth an evening of your time
Official links and where the next edition will show up
These are the sources worth your time. Click each link to open it in a new tab.
The complete registration form, eligibility list, submission rules, rewards, deadlines and terms. This is the authoritative source and where Season 10 will be posted.
Read the latest annual report, investor presentations and sustainability disclosures. Cite real ReNew projects, capacity numbers and strategic priorities in your case where relevant.
Build a case answer a ReNew leadership team could act on
AceCase Pro and Super100 train first and second year MBA students on strategy-led case structuring, energy and infrastructure sector frameworks, and defending numbers in front of a panel, which is exactly what ReLead asks for.
✓ Mentor review of your two-slide summary and ten-slide deck before you submit
✓ Sector-specific drills built around strategy, finance and energy transition problems
All details in this article are based on the official ReLead 9.0 listing on Unstop and publicly available information as of the publication date. Eligibility, eligible institutes, dates, rewards, round structures, prize pool and pre-placement interview opportunities may change at the discretion of ReNew or the event organizers. Please verify all information on the official listing before applying to any future edition. AceMBA is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to ReNew or Unstop. This guide is for informational and preparatory purposes only.
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