New Delhi: Minister of Trade and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal, today called for more focus on entrepreneurship development in India’s Tier 1 and 2 cities. He was giving the opening speech at the 3^e Meeting of the National Startup Advisory Council virtually today.

It can be noted that 45% of startups in India come from level 2 and 3 cities and 623 districts have at least 1 recognized startup. From 2018-21, nearly 5.9 L of jobs were created by startups. In 2021 alone, nearly 1.9 L of jobs were created.

The Department for the Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) had established the National Startup Advisory Council to advise the government on the measures needed to build a strong ecosystem to foster innovation and startups in the country in order to stimulate sustainable economic growth and generate large-scale employment opportunities.

Besides ex officio members, the board has several unofficial members, representing various stakeholders such as founders of successful startups, veterans who have developed and grown businesses in India, people capable of representing the interests of investors, startup incubators and accelerators, representatives of startup stakeholder associations and representatives of professional associations.

The minister said that 25^e December, the anniversary of the birth of former Prime Minister Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee, is celebrated as Good Governance Day in India. He expressed the hope that a robust startup ecosystem would help formalize the economy and help improve the ease of life and ease of doing business and in turn help promote the ideals of good governance. He observed that the “Startup India” movement had brought a “shift in mindset” from “can do” to “will do” and helped us move beyond traditional notions of entrepreneurship.

The minister said our startups have turned COVID-19 crises into opportunity and made 2021 the Year of the Unicorns with 79 booming unicorns. Stressing that India is now home to the 3^e The world’s largest startup ecosystem, Shri Goyal said he believes in the power of ideas. Simple solutions can have an extraordinary impact, he added.

Quoting Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Shri Goyal said the government’s priority can be expressed in four words, “Minimum government, maximum governance” and called for minimum government interventions in the lives of citizens. He said our vision is to build a new India committed to the economic advancement and well-being of 135 million Indians, especially those who have been left behind.

The Minister assured that the government, as a facilitator, is committed to developing a robust startup ecosystem by offering exceptional benefits such as an 80% discount on patent filing and 50% on patent filing. brand, relaxation of public procurement standards, self-certification in labor and environmental laws, fund of funds for startups of Rs. 10,000 crore, exemption from income tax for 3 out of 10 years, seed fund program of Rs. 945 Cr and the creation of an Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), which will create new opportunities and remove some monopoly tendencies in some spheres.

Shri Goyal said that in addition to massive job creation, our startups have the potential to catalyze India’s integration into global value chains and increase our footprint in global markets. He urged successful entrepreneurs, especially unicorns, to share their experiences with students and young people in order to instill the start-up culture and entrepreneurship at the local level, especially in regions like the north. -est of India. He called on universities, government and industry to work hand in hand to promote entrepreneurship at the local level.

Urging young people to take risks in entrepreneurship, the minister said that you never know before you try, therefore mistakes should be normalized and failures should not be seen as the end of the entrepreneurial journey. We must also learn to celebrate failure, he added.

Shri Goyal called on startups to explore uncharted areas like rural tourism in terms of agri-stays, hotels and host families that would help create additional income for farmers. Shri Goyal said the nation’s youth should be encouraged to visit villages, experience rural life and find solutions to rural problems. He also asked successful startups to focus on the rural economy and work on solutions like drip irrigation, natural agriculture, etc. to improve the lives of farmers.

Speaking about the need to increase seed capital, Shri Goyal said that we need to encourage the flow of domestic capital into our startups. He added that it was necessary to make “Startup India” a symbol of autonomy and self-confidence. The minister called for a participatory approach of all stakeholders to achieve such an ambitious goal.

Six national programs were presented to the Minister as part of the third meeting of the National Startup Advisory Council to strengthen the startup ecosystem in the country. The main interventions discussed were the national capacity building program for incubators, providing an impetus to startups engaged in the manufacturing sector, allowing the greatest number of Family Offices and High Networth Individuals (HNI) to invest in startups, accelerating Deep-tech startups that would act as a catalyst to empower pioneers, establish an international platform and gateway for Indian startups to go global, propel the participation of women in startups and a holistic agenda that aims to enable global mentoring, market access, international opportunities and B2B connections.

The video conference brought together several startup executives, investors, banks, senior officials representing various ministries / departments and key stakeholders in the startup ecosystem.

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