The minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal, on Monday inaugurated the first-ever Startup India Innovation Week via video conferencing.
This virtual week-long innovation celebration aims to commemorate the 75th year of India’s independence ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ and is designed to showcase the spread and depth of entrepreneurship across India, read the press release.
At the meet, he called upon start-ups to socialise and democratise the availability of healthcare in India. His statement comes at a time the world is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic.
During his speech at the meet, Goyal inspired ‘Startup India’ to become a symbol of Self Reliance and Self Confidence.
He also said that entrepreneurs should also focus on strengthening the make in India programme, innovating in India and mentoring young startups.
He outlined 3 goals for Indian entrepreneurs, ‘Make in India’, ‘Innovate in India’, and ‘Mentor the next generation of entrepreneurs.
The minister said that venture capitalists and financers can also play a key role in mentoring young startups across the country particularly in Tier 2 and 3 towns.
“As the world is facing successive waves of this pandemic, our entrepreneurs must start thinking of making our startups more resilient… I think our startups can play a very important role to socialise and democratise the availability of healthcare across the world,” he said while addressing the inaugural session of the Startup India Innovation Week here.
Goyal 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.
“I suggest five mantras for growth of startups in the years to come — Share, Explore, Nurture, Serve, and Empower (SENSE)”.
He said the government has taken several steps to encourage startups, including a reduction in patent filing fees, relaxation in the public procurement norms, fund of funds, and seed fund scheme.
During 2018-21, startups have created over six lakh jobs and this number is growing by the day, he added.
The minister highlighted that the success of IPOs of many startups showcases 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 and added that in 2021 alone, more than 2 Lakh jobs have been created.
The minister said that Open Network Digital Commerce (ONDC) will be a game-changer- to bring in equity in the business ecosystem.
The Minister also called upon innovators to focus on “Prashasan Gaon Ki Aur”, ideas to improve last-mile service delivery and empower our weavers, artisans and farmers and bring the market to their doorsteps.
