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New Dehi : Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal on January 10, 2022, 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. He was inaugurating ṭhe “Startup India Innovation Week Launch” virtually from New Delhi on January 10, 2022.
Expressing his delight at being able to participate in the first ever Startup Innovation launch week, Goyal said, that ‘Celebrating Innovation Ecosystem’, as a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, was also a call to action for all of us to strengthen our startup ecosystem further. He spoke of the need for institutionalising the Startup Week Celebrations as an annual event so to keep reviewing, reinventiing, rejuvenating and reenergising our startup ecosystem. He said that there is a need for developing a futuristic outlook to pave the roadmap of the future while we celebrate our entrepreneurs.
The 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, according to a PIB release.
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.
The Minister emphasised that the event has been organised with whole of Government approach and in collaboration of 30 Departments. He also announced that the pegistration for the Innovation Week had already crossed 1 lakh. Goyal noted that this year marked the completion of 6 years of Startup India. The launch of ‘Startup India movement’ by PM Narendra Modi in January 2016 stirred the entrepreneurial spirit across India, he said. Terming the startups as the harbingers of change, Goyal said that our startups have changed the mind-set from “Can do” to “Will do”. Startup India, which started as a mission to promote Innovation has today become a revolution of National Participation and National Consciousness, he said.
Expressing confidence that the Prime Minister’s interaction with startups on the completion of 6 years of Startup India will encourage our entrepreneurs to dream big and achieve bigger, Goyal said that 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. The Minister said that the New in New India symbolized the freshness of perspective and ideas that our startups bring.
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 our startups much more resilient so that they are well prepared to mitigate and overcome crisis situations like the pandemic.
Goyal observed that our 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 & III cities and said that 46% of Startups are found by Women Entrepreneurs. He 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 and added that in 2021 alone, more than 2 Lakh jobs were created.
The Minister said that our 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, relaxation in public procurement norms, Self-Certification under Labour and Environmental Laws, Funds of Funds for Startups, Income Tax exemption for 3 out of 10 years and Seed Fund Scheme of Rs 945 Cr. 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.
Terming the proposed Open Network Digital Commerce (ONDC) initiative as a game changer, he said it will help entrepreneurs to save cost as well as build trust,i Goyal said that ONDC would help bridge the gap between mighty Corporations and small startups and help bring in equity in the business ecosystem. He said that the mantra for startups for further growth is SENSE- Share, Explore, Nurture, Serve, and Empower. He called upon entrepreneurs to take initiative to share their knowledge, experience, ideas and mentor others. The Minister said that ‘Startup India’ must become a symbol of Self Reliance and Self Confidence.
Highlights of the week-long celebration will be the Prime Minister’s interaction with startups, result Declaration of National Startup Awards 2021, launch of Doordarshan Startup Champions 2.0 show , roundtable with Global Investors and domestic funds, launch of Open Network for Digital Commerce Digital Strategy, participation by Ministry of Education, Niti Aayog, Office of PSA, DBT, DST, MeitY, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, among other departments, in various sessions, launch of ‘Fisheries Startup Grand Challenge’ by Department of Fisheries and pitching sessions and corporate connect programs for startups from across the country.