India’s Future Lies With The Startups, Says Union Minister Suresh Prabhu

Union minister for commerce, industry and civil aviation Suresh Prabhu believes that the Indian startups should focus on building “business models” for the society in his speech that reflects his intent on further motivating the startup ecosystem for India’s future.

According to him, the startups should build solutions which can solve crucial matters like water insufficiency in households or bring mass healthcare solutions to the rural areas.

The Minister was speaking at the grand finale of ET Power of Ideas hosted in New Delhi.

Testifying the efficacy of startups in propelling India towards growth and development, Prabhu iterated that the power of ideas can transform the lives of the people in India. He further enumerated the importance of converting ideas into business models to make them work and survive.

“India’s future lies with the startups,” the minister said.

Addressing the startup community, the minister further said, “Most businesses try to earn goodwill after they succeed. But entrepreneurs must come up with a business idea, which can be a business opportunity and earn goodwill at the same time.”

Prabhu also reasoned why India is a minefield of ideas. He explained that unlike developed countries where everything is predictable and there are no surprises in developing countries like India. Therefore, it is ripe for new ideas since there are multiple problems to be solved.

Entrepreneurs are often referred to as the “Agents of Change” are committed to formulating innovative solutions for the most pressing problems in the world. India is currently seeing an upsurge in the number of startups being the third largest country in terms of its startups. A Nasscom-Zinnov report says the number of startups in the country is expected to more than double its base to 10,500 by 2020.

A certain number of startups of this big chunk are also aiming to solve one or the other social problem, building a niche for social entrepreneurship. In recent years, startups have turned out to be an extension of micromanagement for the society wherein their business models are helping India solve its teething problems.

The growing importance of startups in terms of solving India’s existing problems may well be realised in the booming presence of entrepreneurship programmes and cohorts by various institutions and corporate companies. The Indian Innovation Growth Programme, the School of Social Entrepreneurs, Nexus Startup Hub, etc. are a few in counting that is helping startups find a way to realise their ambitions as well as fill in the existing gaps in the society.

The startup ecosystem in India has come a long way. Today, startups are figuring out they need to start concentrating on tapping the needs unique to the Indian population hitherto untapped by foreign companies – using their home turf advantage to beat the competition.

Seeing this potential, it is not surprising that Suresh Prabhu addressed the Indian startup ecosystem over what they are doing in India with paramount conviction.