Goyal calls Indian Industry to Aim for Raising 75 Unicorns in the 75
Weeks to the 75th Anniversary of Independence Next Year
·
Releases NASSCOM Tech Start-up Report 2022
ABS
News Service/22.01.2022
The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer
Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Mr. Piyush Goyal on 21 January 2022 called upon the Indian industry to
aim for raising 75 unicorns in the 75 weeks to the 75th anniversary of
Independence next year.
“We have added 43 unicorns added in 45 weeks, since
the start of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ on 12th
March, 2021. Let us aim for atleast 75 unicorns in this
75 week period to 75th Anniversary of Independence,” he said, while releasing
the NASSCOM Tech Start-up Report 2022.
Mr. Goyal said Startup
India started a revolution six years ago and today ‘Startup’ has become a common
household term. Indian Startups are fast becoming the champions of India Inc’s growth story, he added.
“India has now become the hallmark of a trailblazer
& is leaving its mark on global startup landscape. Investments received by Indian
startups overshadowed pre-pandemic highs. 2021 will be remembered as the year Indian
start-ups delivered on their promise, - fearlessly chasing opportunities across
verticals - Edtech, HealthTech
& AgriTech amongst others,” he said.
Mr. Goyal lauded the
ITES (Information Technology Enabled Services) industry including the Business Process
Outsourcing (BPO) sector for the record Services exports during the last year.
“Services Export for Apr-Dec 2021 reached more
than $178 bn despite the Covid19 pandemic when the Travel,
Hospitality & Tourism sectors were significantly down,” he said.
Mr. Goyal said the Prime
Minister Mr. Narendra Modi has declared 16th January as the National
Startup Day, showing his commitment to take the innovation culture to every nook
and corner of the country.
“We all celebrated this innovation spirit through
Startup India Innovation Week, during the last week as part of 'Azadi ka Amrit
Mahotsav’. PM’s interaction with Startups a week ago has
supercharged the courage of our innovators,” he said.
Mr. Goyal said the Government
has taken several steps to boost startup ecosystem,-
·
Removing problems of ‘Angel
tax’, simplification of tax procedure & allowing self-certification and self-regulation
towards which we are moving
·
Reducing burden of over 26,500
compliances
·
Decriminalization of 770 compliances
Mr. Goyal said the New
India is today being led by new troika of Innovation, Technology & Entrepreneurship
(ITE), which in a way has grown further from the original ICE (Information, Communication
& Entertainment).
“I remember when ICE was introduced many years
ago, we were excited about the new information age. Today, that same vibrancy &
excitement is witnessed in the way our startups are growing in the ITE areas,” he
said.
Mr. Goyal said India’s
unique digital infrastructure - Aadhaar, Digilocker, Fastag, Cowin, UPI etc. have enabled Access & Affordability.
“The Cowin portal showed
the world that Indian could run world’s largest vaccination programme
efficiently & effectively, with complete mapping & monitoring done digitally.
UPI has helped new age technologies in reaching the common man at affordable prices,”
said Mr. Goyal.
“The next “UPI moment” will be the ONDC (Open Network
for Digital Commerce). The first-of-its-kind globally, ONDC to enable interoperability
between eCommerce companies, providing equal opportunity
to small & large players, will help control digital monopolies & make industry
more inclusive for buyers & sellers alike, empowering MSMEs to unlock innovation
& value,” he added.
Mr. Goyal unveiled a
five-point plan as the way forward for the NASSCOM:
1. Emphasize on basic & core needs of people, - providing better access
to financial services, education & healthcare; solutions to problems of farmers,
etc.
2. Focus on High growth & Job creating sectors, - Advertising &
Marketing, Prof. services, Fitness & Wellness (Yoga
becoming popular globally), Gaming, Sports, Audio-Visual services
3. More & more startups should leverage Deep tech to build solutions
for local & global markets, - AI, IoT, Big Data, Data
Analytics, Blockchain, Virtual Reality, 3D Printing, Drones,
etc.
4. We have a lot of potential in Startups from Tier-2 & 3 cities. If
we give them more support & proper mentoring, they could also play a much greater
in the years to come.
5. India will assume G20 presidency in 2023 – suggest ideas on themes resonating
with our vision to solve global issues.
Mr. Goyal hoped this
momentum of the Indian Startup ecosystem will continue in the current year and the
years to come.
“While 2021 was a year in which we defied all odds,
2022 will be the breakthrough year which will unlock country’s exponential value.
‘India at 100’ will be renowned as a Startup nation. But as PM Modi said in his
speech- the “Amrit Kaal,” the
coming 25 years - are the period of utmost hard work, sacrifice and tapasya,” he said.