NEW DELHI: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal lauded the visionary and astute leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the last nine years which has turned India into the third largest startup ecosystem of the world.
Speaking at the Annual E-Summit Consortium 2023 of Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT), Nagpur through virtual mode, the minister said that India was respected and valued across the world as a centre of technology. He appreciated VNIT for bringing together different stakeholders like investors, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, etc. on a common forum and encouraging startups and entrepreneurship in the region.
He said that the journey of Atmanirbhar Bharat was powered by technology and innovation which was helping the youth become job creators rather than job seekers. He stated that over 90,000 startups registered with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) have created a million jobs directly and many more indirectly.
He appreciated the startups for providing solutions which are simple but highly effective for people & businesses; this improves Ease of Doing Business and ease of living. He also said that there was gender parity in startups as nearly half of the startups have at least one woman director and women entrepreneurs are leading many successful startups.
The minister said that indigenous and innovative thinking is the need of the hour and the students at VNIT will take this spirit of innovation along with them across the country.
