With India’s innovation ecosystem rapidly evolving, a greater focus on nurturing entrepreneurship in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, engagement by startups with the nation’s youth, and devising solutions to rural India’s problems will allow start-ups to realise their potential to catalyse India’s integration into global value chains and expand our footprint in global markets will allow start-ups to realise their potential to catalyse India’s integration into global value chains and increase our footprint in global markets.
Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said at a meeting of the National Startup Advisory Council on Friday that 45 percent of startups in India are from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, that 623 districts have at least one recognised startup, and that startups have created nearly 5.9 lakh jobs between 2018 and 2021, with nearly 1.9 lakh jobs created in 2021 alone.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) established the National Startup Advisory Council to advise the government on measures needed to create a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and startups in the country in order to drive long-term economic growth and create large-scale job opportunities.
The Minister stated that a strong startup ecosystem will help formalise the economy, enhance the ease of living and conducting business and that startups have transformed 2021 into the year of unicorns, with 79 of them already thriving.
The Minister pledged the government’s support for the development of a strong startup ecosystem by offering exceptional benefits such as an 80% discount on patent filing and a 50% discount on trademark filing, relaxation of public procurement norms, self-certification under labour and environmental laws, a fund of funds for startups worth Rs 10,000 crore, income tax exemption for three out of ten years, a Rs 945 crore seed fund scheme, and the creation of an open network for digital commerce.
Among the innovative ideas proposed by Goyal are unicorns sharing their experiences with students and youth, particularly in areas such as the North East of India, and start-ups exploring new areas such as rural tourism in terms of agri-stays, hotels, and homestays, which would help farmers generate additional income.
The conference’s key interventions included a national capacity-building programme for incubators, giving a boost to manufacturing-related startups, empowering a larger pool of family offices and high-net-worth individuals to invest in startups, accelerating deep-tech startups that would act as a catalyst in empowering pioneers, establishing an international platform and a gateway for Indian startups to go global, and propelling participation of women entrepreneurs.
