Almost 4 startups are recognised in India every hour, says Minister
The Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has called upon stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem to strive to take India to the top 25 in the Global Innovation Index.
“Our startups are the key reason behind India’s meteoric rise in Global Innovation Index from 76 in 2014 to 46 in 2021,” Goyal said at the inauguration of ṭhe “Startup India Innovation Week” launched virtually from New Delhi on 10 Jan 2022.
He also called on stakeholders to help strengthen the Indian startup ecosystem further.
The Minister spoke of the need for institutionalizing the Startup Week Celebrations (10-16 Jan) as an annual event so that “we keep reviewing, reinventiing, rejuvenating and reenergizing our startup ecosystem”.
He stressed that there is a need for developing a futuristic outlook to pave the roadmap of the future while “we celebrate our entrepreneurs”.
The startup and innovation festival’s primary goal is to bring together the country’s key startups, entrepreneurs, investors, incubators, funding entities, banks, policymakers, and other national and international stakeholders to celebrate entrepreneurship and promote innovation.
Furthermore, Goyal wants to exchange knowledge on nurturing startup ecosystems; to develop entrepreneurial ecosystem capacities; to mobilise global and domestic capital for startup investments; to encourage and inspire the youth for innovation and entrepreneurship; to provide market access opportunities to startups; and to showcase high-quality, high-technology, and frugal innovations from India.
The Minister emphasized that the event has been organized with whole of Government approach and in collaboration of 30 Departments.
He also announced that the Participant registration for the Innovation Week had already crossed 1 lakh.
Terming the startups as the harbingers of change, Goyal said that the Indian startups have changed the mind-set from “Can do” to “Will do”.
The six-year old Startup India, which started as a mission to promote Innovation has today become a revolution of National Participation and National Consciousness, he noted.
“Our Startups turned COVID-19 crises into an opportunity and made 2021 the Year of unicorns; with 3rd largest number of Unicorns (82) in the world.”
Goyal urged entrepreneurs to think of building Startups that focus on Healthifying people at a time when the world is facing successive waves of pandemic.
The Minister said that the New in New India symbolized the freshness of perspective and ideas that our startups bring.
He pointed out that the Indian Startups were ‘Learning Earl, Learning Often, Learning from Experience and Learning from Others’.
He asked innovators to celebrate failure, learn from their mistakes and turn them into stepping stones to success.
He outlined 3 goals for Indian entrepreneurs, ‘Make in India’, ‘Innovate in India’, and ‘Mentor the next generation of entrepreneurs’.
He also said that there was a need to make the startups much more resilient so that they are well prepared to mitigate and overcome crisis situations like the pandemic.
The Minister observed that young entrepreneurs are eager to make extreme impact and are fearless risk takers. He noted that today, almost 4 startups are recognised in India every hour with 45% belonging to Tier II and III cities, and pointed out that 46% of Startups are by Women Entrepreneurs.
Goyal highlighted that the success of IPOs of many startups showcase their power to become the new Multi-National Corporations.
He said that from 2018-21, more than 6 Lakh Jobs have been created by Startups. In 2021 alone, more than 2 Lakh jobs have been created by Startups.
The Minister said that the Indian Government has been acting as a ‘facilitator’ by focusing on simplification, facilitation and bringing ease in starting and doing business.
Listing some measure taken by the Government to improve Ease of Doing Business, he said that there was an 80% rebate on patent filing and 50% on trademark filing fees. The Government has relaxed on public procurement norms, Self-Certification under Labour and Environmental Laws, Fund of Funds for Startups, Income Tax exemption for 3 out of 10 years and Seed Fund Scheme of Rs.945 crore.
An improved IPR regime has resulted in the registration of 1.16 million trademarks in last 4 years, compared to 1.1 million registrations in last 75 years, he added.
Goyal pointed out that Open Network Digital Commerce (ONDC) would help bridge the gap between mighty Corporations and small startups and help bring in equity in the business ecosystem. ONDC is a game changer will help Indian entrepreneurs to save cost as well as build trust.
He said that the mantra for startups for further growth is SENSE – Share, Explore, Nurture, Serve and Empower.
The Minister also called upon entrepreneurs to take initiative to share their knowledge, experience, ideas and mentor others.
He asked Startups to explore the unexplored areas like Rural Tourism in terms of agri-stays, hotels and homestays, creating additional income for farmers.
Goyal encouraged them to nurture new ideas and constantly try to develop new products. fiinews.com
