Piyush Goyal Calls For A New Startup City To Bolster India’s Startup Ecosystem

Union minister Piyush Goyal has called for building a startup city or a township dedicated exclusively to entrepreneurs to further bolster the country’s rapidly growing startup ecosystem.

Speaking at the launch of Bharat Startup Knowledge Access Registry (BHASKAR), Goyal said that the world’s third largest startup ecosystem should aim to establish a geographical hub that will foster collaboration, knowledge dissemination, among other things critical for growth of startups.

“I know Bengaluru prides itself on being the ‘Silicon Valley’ of India, but I think it is time now we start thinking in terms of creating a township dedicated to entrepreneurs, startups, innovators… Can we create a society or a whole 500 acre area where people coming from all over the country can come in and make it big?” he said. 

He said that this startup city should strive to have an impact on people’s lives and aspirations like Mumbai has had over the years. Many people came to Mumbai and made it big, the minister said, adding that the dedicated city for startups should also have a similar impact on entrepreneurs and innovators.

Highlighting the rapid growth in India’s startup ecosystem over the last few years, Goyal said it is time for Indian unicorns to now look beyond the country and expand overseas.

“Many startups are ripe to be world players today and every single sector holds a tremendous opportunity. The last 7-8 years has been a tremendous growth story which has seen us emerge as the third largest startup ecosystem but our aspirations shouldn’t end there,” the minister said. 

While the country currently houses the third largest startup ecosystem globally, the minister said that India aspires to be the biggest startup hub in the future. For this, he said that there is a lot of “catch up” to do. 

Goyal also said that the Startup Mahakumbh, held for the first time earlier this year, will be the vehicle for India to display its startup prowess to the world. 

It is pertinent to note that the Startup Mahakumbh, held in March in Delhi, brought together over 1,000 startups and investors and over 500 startup incubators and accelerators. Besides, at least 10 international delegations also participated in the two-day event. 

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) held the first meeting for the next edition of the Startup Mahakumbh today and is aiming to increase the magnitude of the event next year by hosting delegations from 50 countries. 

Goyal’s comments come about nine months after he met with 52 prominent unicorn founders like Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Droom’s Sandeep Aggarwal, Zomato’s Deepinder Goyal, boAt’s Aman Gupta, among others, to discuss India’s position in the global startup landscape.

Back then, he suggested an association of startups or a club of unicorns to raise the issues being faced by the startups.

Meanwhile, talking about BHASKAR, a digital platform for startups, Goyal said it would serve as a vehicle for promoting India’s global reputation as a startup hub. 

The platform is designed to facilitate collaboration between startups, investors, tech enablers, mentors, government bodies, and other key stakeholders in the Indian startup ecosystem. 

It is pertinent to mention that the Centre has taken a number of steps over the last few years, including launching schemes like Startup India, Startup India Seed Fund Scheme, Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups, to promote startups in the country. As a result, the country is currently home to 1.46 Lakh DPIIT-registered startups.

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