The new wave of start-ups in the country is a testimony to the entrepreneurial temperament of the youth

PHDCCI conducted “Bharat Startup Summit, 2023” The conclave through discussions aimed to collaborate, connect and bring together the Startup community, aiming to build a strong Startup ecosystem.

Carrying the theme of "Innovate, Accelerate and Grow,' the event brought together the entrepreneurs, prominent industry leaders, and investors to share their ideas; and featured keynote speeches, interactive sessions, and an expert panel discussion.

Ashwini Vaishnav, Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology; Railways, and Communications, Govt of India, in his note of address appreciated PHDCCI for its growth to becoming a national-level entity and praised the 1.5 lakh member community of PHDCCI for their integral role in Nation building. The minister called the organization the backbone of Indian economy and its effective contribution to the economy all through its 118 yrs old journey.

While appreciating the new wave/yug of startups, Mr. Vaishnaw said that nobody can stop the inert strength and power of tech innovation. He also praised the industry for its synergizing efforts with govt ministries and stakeholders for a common objective of helping the economy of India.

Mr. Vaishnaw emphasized the further need to transform and talked about the importance of a methodical, process-driven, and thoughtful approach to aid the success of the ecosystem. We are now a USD 3 and half trillion economy and an effective change in the system towards the transformation of a 5 trillion economy.

Laying emphasis on training, process driven business environment and a thoughtful approach as the key to making a successful business, the Hon’ble Minster quoted the words of Warren Buffet ‘Business is too important an activity to be left in the hand of the untrained” and mentioned that transformation is the key to making India the global super power in the near Future.

Praising the nation, he said “No power can stop the enthusiasm, energy, fire that we have in India's entrepreneurship” and expressed his desire to make India the top economy of the globe. Mr. Vaishnaw aspires to see India as a fully developed futuristic, empowered, advanced in technology, that can be achieved through profound collaboration between the government, industry stakeholder and India’s Youth.

Appreciating the Hon’ble PM’s lazer sharp vision towards placing India in the list of countries providing end to end solution in the telecom technology sector, Mr Vaishnaw stated that India takes pride in being the 6th country to be added to the list of only 5 countries, which existed till now, in providing an end to end solution in the telecom sector.

Under the visionary leadership of our Hon’ble Prime Minister, India aspires to reach the goal of constituting 25% of the World’s total GDP, a share which India possessed at the start of the British colonization in India during the 17th century, when our countries GDP stood between 25 - 35% of the World’s total GDP, added Mr Vashnaw

He mentioned how 10yrs back, we used to import 99% of mobile phones and now 99% are made in India.

Citing wall street journal's published report Mr. Vaishnaw informed that the 6G rollout in India is the world’s fastest. He added that we started in Oct last year and ahead of the deadline of 31st march, 2023, we have rolled out 397, which is many times beyond the target we had set for ourselves.” He further added, “Besides the complexities, we have achieved 100 patents so far.”

Vande Bharat is a unique period in a journey embarked by India to becoming a transformed, powerful, manufacturing hub and globally respected economy in the near future, since the last 75 years, added the Hon’ble Minister.

Appreciating the Hon’ble PM’s lazer sharp vision towards placing India in the list of countries providing end to end solution in the telecom technology sector, Mr Vaishnaw stated that India takes pride in being the 6th country to be added to the list of only 5 countries, which existed till now, in providing an end to end solution in the telecom sector.

The world stands astonished at the in-depth R&D undertaken, by the Indian Government, before presenting a low cost and best in quality 5G services to the world; today, India received immense appreciation for its fastest 5G technology roll out, at the World Economic Forum held at Davos recently , stated Mr Vaishnaw.

From starting to manufacture the Radio Equipment, one of the most complex equipment,today, India is exporting the equipment to USA, among other countries; a result of Hon’ble PM’s focused vision, added Mr Vaishnaw

Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Science and Technology; MoS (Independent Charge), Ministry of Earth Sciences; Minister of State, Prime Minister's Office; MoS, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; MoS, Department of Atomic Energy; and MoS, Department of Space, Govt. of India, urged to make the Industry an active part of the startup movement.

The Minister suggested linking the industry with the market dynamics; and pressed on the need for the Involvement of Industry right from the beginning. The Hon'ble minister called it a synergy between academia, research and Startup Industry. While terming it a win-win relationship, the minister stated, "We don't thrive solely on trust but the investment and financial sustenance."

He also thanked PM Modi for bringing the wave of Startups in the country through his speeches and said, “We don't have a dearth of talent or passion, we just need to channelize its potential to sustain.”

He recommended the industry to tap the huge potential of the Indian Ocean from the Startup perspective, due to the presence of huge amounts of wealth in the forms of minerals, metals, and living and non-living resources.

The Minister also emphasized women's leadership, he informed how the Gender difference is weaning away as far as innovation is considered. While praising the women's involvement in the Industry- he said the women have now graduated from partners to leaders. "We have 36 unicorns that have women as founders or co-founders. Let us humbly accept their leadership," added the minister.

Lastly, he gave an example of "Herstart initiative" which is exclusively dedicated to women, and it gives a monthly allowance of Rs. 20 thousand for women entrepreneurs.

Palak Kaur Bhatia AVP- Investor India, started her note by giving the example of her entrepreneurship journey from 10yrs back when it was not very common.

She asked the women present at the event to take advantage of the resources presented in the ecosystem.

And make a mention about now available various resources like incubators and accelerators, and requested everyone to be a part of the beautiful revolution that is happening across the country.

Ms. Bhatia also informed about the now changing mindsets and told how open it has become now for creating new opportunities for entrepreneurship. She also termed the “Startup India Website” the holy grail of any problem.

Concluding her note of address, she said, she didn't like to be the only female present at the dais today and urged female participants present at the event to become an active part of this ecosystem. She further expects a good female representation in the near future.

Vaibhav Saxena, co-founder- Ipsator Analytics Pvt. Ltd. in his address, called the startup work as a gear, and asked the participants to take advantage of the startup India.

He also urged the Startup community to observe and experience the actual problem in tier2 and tier 3 cities, where it actually exists.

Dr Omkar Rai, Executive Chairman-Startup Odisha, congratulated PHDCCI for its summit and praised the Hon’ble Minister, Mr Vaishnaw’s speech. Further, Mr. Rai, informed about the presence of 107 unicorns in the Indian Startup Ecosystem and said, “We should be proud of having the third largest unicorn ecosystem”. He further hopes to see the coming of 100 thousand Startups by 2025.

Dr Rai referred the IT services and software network to be an important driving factor as they propelled the fast growth of the Startup ecosystem. He said, “We witnessed a significant pattern in the country with 40% unicorn from tier 2, 3 cities. He further informed, out of 24 unicorns that were added last year, only 9 were from metro cities and the rest were from these cities. The expert also urged Young boys and girls to join this journey of startups and build a strong ecosystem, assuring that there should be no dearth of investment.

Mr. Rai referred Odisha’s state policy as being the most aggressive and inspiring amongst all states and informed about how its “Make in India Odisha event 2022” received a huge response.

To promote the Startups there is need to give them monthly allowance to founders with also some of the base assistance. Referring Ms Palak he proudly said that now there are 47% women-led Startups in India.

Talking more about Odisha’s vision towards this, he said, “We are carefully leveraging the growth of the entrepreneurs and doing everything to fastrack growth of Startup ecosystem in our state.”

Later he talked about the state’s focus through its architected policy and how they have excelled in metallurgy. Finally, he asked the participants to come and try the state’s approach and get leveraged from its policies.

Anand Madya, OSD to Chief Minister of Maharashtra, praised Mr. Shinde's vision of how a state functions in a manner where everyone gets benefitted. And added, the government has to run in a manner that is fluid. In his statement, he underlined that we are creating an ecosystem where Startups get benefitted the most and everyone gets equal opportunities across the state despite any age or time.

Saket Dalmia, President, PHDCCI, the Indian government's initiatives like Startup India, Atal Innovation Mission, Fund of Funds by SIDBI, The Biotechnology Ignition Grant Scheme, and Tax benefits have played a pivotal role in creating a conducive environment for Startups to flourish. These schemes have boosted investor confidence and revived the Startup ecosystem, leading to over 83,000 recognized Startups across 656 districts of the country.

Women entrepreneurs, in particular, have made significant contributions to entrepreneurial activity and economic development. They represent the fastest-growing category worldwide and have created several successful unicorns. Their impact on the economy cannot be overstated, added Mr Dalmia

Moreover, Indian unicorns are flourishing and generating large-scale employment while developing innovative solutions and technologies. These Startups are leading the way in shaping India's future and propelling us towards becoming a global leader in innovation and entrepreneurship, Mr Dalmia,

Prashant Pitti, Chair, Startup Committee, PHDCCI, mentioned that Startups have emerged as a key driver of economic growth and job creation in recent years. They are not only creating new and innovative solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing society today, but they are also playing a vital role in transforming the way we work and live.

In India, the Startup ecosystem has been growing rapidly over the past few years, with a vibrant community of entrepreneurs and innovators emerging in different parts of the country. However, there is still a lot of untapped potential in Tier II and III cities and rural areas, which is essential for realizing the vision of an “Atmanirbhar Bharat”, added Mr Pitti

Startups play an active role in boosting innovation and creating jobs in India. Their growth has a direct correlation with that of the Indian economy. The booming start-up segment has achieved spectacular growth in a short span of time, added Mr Pitti

Vinayak Nath, Co Chair, Startup Committee, PHDCCI, We are looking forward to help the micro and small enterprises to recreate themselves into a start up and get the max benefit of the government schemes.

Yashraj Akashi, Co- Chair, Startup Committee, PHDCCI, there has been a gap between equal interaction between the govt, industry and the startups, it is time that all the 3 stakeholder communities talk interactively with no skewed interest towards either one, this will lay an immense opportunity and aid in building a strong startup ecosystem in India. There exist an opportunity and it is a pleasure to see PHDCCI bridging the gap , giving an equal platform to the govt, Industry and the Startups.

Ashish Agarwal, Co-chair Startup committee, PHDCCI, talked about how PHDCCI has been proactively engaging with Startups in recent times and how PHDCCI has been supporting initiatives aimed at promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, through our various programs, such as facilitation centers, mentoring programs, and workshops.