National Startup Advisory Council Reconstituted, Rajan Anandan, Nithin Kamath, Prashanth Prakash Named Non-Official Members

The government has reconstituted the National Startup Advisory Council (NSAC) with the nomination of 31 non-official members, which include Abhiraj Singh Bhal from Urban Company; Kunal Bahl, Snapdeal and Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Info Edge.

The list also includes Ramesh Byrapaneni, Endiya Partners; Prashanth Prakash, Accel; Rajan Anandan, Peak XV Partners and Nithin Kamath, Zerodha, among others.

In January 2020, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) constituted the council with the purpose of advising the government on initiatives essential for fostering innovation and supporting startups in the country.

The term of the non-official members of the council is for two years.

“Upon completion of two-year term of the NSAC, the central government has nominated the non-official members on the National Startup Advisory Council representing various stakeholders such as founders of successful startups, veterans who have grown and scaled companies in India, persons capable of representing the interest of investors into startups, persons capable of representing interests of incubators and accelerators, representatives of associations of stakeholders of startups and representatives of industry associations,” Ministry of Commerce & Industry, said.

The eighth NSAC meeting is slated for Tuesday (December 19) in New Delhi, which will be chaired by Union Minister Piyush Goyal.

The council meets on a regular basis to suggest measures such as fostering a culture of innovation among citizens and students in particular; and promote innovation in all sectors of the economy across the country, support creative and innovative ideas through incubation and research, among others.

The council is part of the government’s increasing focus on promoting startups for technological innovations, creating jobs and faster economic growth. The government aims to make India a $1 Tn digital economy by 2025.

Earlier this year, the DPIIT launched the first edition of the ‘National Incubator Capacity Building Program’, a hands-on training programme to help startup incubators grow sustainably, under the government’s ‘Startup India’ initiative.

India is currently home to more than 1.14 Lakh startups recognised by the DPIIT, as of October 2023. Capital to the tune of INR 13,832.91 was invested in as many as 718 startups via alternative investment funds (AIFs) under the Centre’s FFS scheme between 2018 and 2022.