‘The start-up culture had taken firm roots with the numbers having risen manifold to 1.2 lakh.’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of Viksit Bharat can be achieved only through innovation that would define India’s growth story and pave the way for our start-ups and human capital to change the rules of the game, said Minister for Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan.
Modi government’s focus on leveraging technology to bridge the gaps was highlighted at IInvenTiv, R &D Innovation Fair of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) at IIT Hyderabad, where the minister emphasised on five pivotal domains, including affordable healthcare, agriculture & food processing, sustainable technologies including climate change, E-mobility, clean energy, defence and space.
Urging the youth to follow Modi’s mantra of ‘Jai Vigyan, Jai Anusandhan’ and make the country a global innovation leader, Pradhan said the Digital Public Infrastructure domain acts as an enabler with 46 per cent of global digital transactions being done in India.
The start-up culture had taken firm roots with the numbers having risen manifold to 1.2 lakh – more than 300 times rise in 9 years. A critical achievement was the presence of 100+ unicorns making India, the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world. As a consequence, India’s global ranking in the Global Innovation Index rose to 40th globally in 132 economies from a rank of 81 in 2015.
Pradhan also highlighted the government’s focus on Deep Tech start-ups ecosystem in critical sectors like Defence, Drone & Space technology and Robotics. Initiatives such as Green Hydrogen Mission, Indian semi-conductor mission combined with PLI schemes had evinced interest from prospective from investors, he said.
Destined to be Viksit Bharat by 2047, India aims to make research, innovation and entrepreneurship the key drivers of its transformation, the minister said.
He said under the guidance of Prime Minister Modi, India has taken a ‘Giant Leap in Innovation and Entrepreneurship’.
The world has now recognised the Indian Model of Development, which is rooted, futuristic and focused on sustainable development. Our strength lies in recognizing the dynamics of both, market and welfare economy. For this purpose, policymaking has shifted to the ‘Manufacturing Sector’ outlining strategies and focus areas that need attention. The goal is to make India, a manufacturing hub which would contribute at least 25% to the country’s GDP as compared to 17% currently, he said.
The government has focused on augmenting the manufacturing sector through important policy changes, such as ‘Make In India’, ‘ Invest in India’, PLI Scheme, and FDI liberalisation. These initiatives will act as a catalyst in India becoming the Third largest economy in the future and achieve the target of being a Five Trillion Dollar economy. The Minister called upon young innovators to seize the India moment for realising the goal of Viksit Bharat, he said.