ET OnlineRecalling how hugely difficult it was to be a startup earlier, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and Information, said that everything at that time was conspiring to make a startup change its mind.
“Over the last nine years, India has taken a long distance from where it was before. I was also an entrepreneur at one point - it was many years ago and it seemed that at every stage, the system was against a startup,” he said speaking at the CII Startup Summit in the capital on Wednesday.
He recollected an incident in 2012, where in the Parliament, he introduced a document that showed that 97% of the Indian banking systems’ net worth had been lent to nine industrial groups.
“Back then our economic model pretty much depended on these 9-10 conglomerates and they represented the Indian economy and as they rose, the economy rose, as they fell, the economy fell and as they decided to go on holiday our economy went on a holiday,” he said.
He declared that today our economy is no longer captive to just two or three conglomerates but hundreds and thousands and hopefully, in some years, millions of startups that are creating economic activity, wealth, jobs and contributing to the growth of our GDP.
The minister said that the difference in the India now versus many years back is clearly visible. "When people ask me what is the difference between India in the present and at the time when we all started as entrepreneurs, the fundamental difference is that startups are now an integral part of the Indian economic architecture and design."
He said that this is a very exciting time for young entrepreneurs in India as they have so many opportunities that exist now. "There is a huge universe of opportunities present in front of our startups."
Delving on how Indian startups have touched upon every part of the tech economy, Chandrasekhar said that opportunities in technology have expanded way beyond the conventional streams. "Whether it is semiconductor design, micro-electronics design and manufacturing, AI, consumer internet, non-consumer internet, quantum high performance computing, blockchain, Web3 - every part of the tech economy today has Indian startups present," he added.
The summit focused on collaboration between corporates and startups and how such an equation can help foster an innovation ecosystem. With the theme of ‘Unlocking innovation through corporate startup Engagement,’ it aimed to highlight and deliberate the key areas of collaboration that could help facilitate such an endeavour.
“Over the last nine years, India has taken a long distance from where it was before. I was also an entrepreneur at one point - it was many years ago and it seemed that at every stage, the system was against a startup,” he said speaking at the CII Startup Summit in the capital on Wednesday.
He recollected an incident in 2012, where in the Parliament, he introduced a document that showed that 97% of the Indian banking systems’ net worth had been lent to nine industrial groups.
“Back then our economic model pretty much depended on these 9-10 conglomerates and they represented the Indian economy and as they rose, the economy rose, as they fell, the economy fell and as they decided to go on holiday our economy went on a holiday,” he said.
He declared that today our economy is no longer captive to just two or three conglomerates but hundreds and thousands and hopefully, in some years, millions of startups that are creating economic activity, wealth, jobs and contributing to the growth of our GDP.
The minister said that the difference in the India now versus many years back is clearly visible. "When people ask me what is the difference between India in the present and at the time when we all started as entrepreneurs, the fundamental difference is that startups are now an integral part of the Indian economic architecture and design."
He said that this is a very exciting time for young entrepreneurs in India as they have so many opportunities that exist now. "There is a huge universe of opportunities present in front of our startups."
Delving on how Indian startups have touched upon every part of the tech economy, Chandrasekhar said that opportunities in technology have expanded way beyond the conventional streams. "Whether it is semiconductor design, micro-electronics design and manufacturing, AI, consumer internet, non-consumer internet, quantum high performance computing, blockchain, Web3 - every part of the tech economy today has Indian startups present," he added.
The summit focused on collaboration between corporates and startups and how such an equation can help foster an innovation ecosystem. With the theme of ‘Unlocking innovation through corporate startup Engagement,’ it aimed to highlight and deliberate the key areas of collaboration that could help facilitate such an endeavour.
( Originally published on May 24, 2023 )
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