PM Modi Asks Startup Founders To Seek Patents For Their Innovations

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (March 20) said at the Startup Mahakumbh event that India has emerged as the world’s third largest startup ecosystem, boasting an impressive count of over 1.25 Lakh startups and 110 unicorns.

He added that these startups contribute to the employment of more than 12 Lakh people, while noting that India has registered over 12,000 patents.

During his interaction with the startup founders at the event, Modi inquired if their products were patented, to which some responded that they are in the process of filing their patents.

The PM also advised those founders to initiate their patenting process promptly, emphasising the rapid advancement of technology.

“Today when the country is working on the road map of a Viksit Bhart 2047, I feel that this Startup Mahakumbh is of great importance. In the last decade, we have seen how India has made its mark in the IT and software sector. Now, we are seeing the trend of innovation and startup culture in India,” Modi said.

He further said, “We are entering the era of AI and India will have the upper hand in this transformation.”

“Artificial Intelligence opens many avenues for young entrepreneurs and global investors. Initiatives like the National Quantum Mission, India AI Mission and Semiconductor Mission open gates of opportunities for the youth,” the PM added.

India’s startup event ‘Startup Mahakumbh’ is hosting over 2000 startups, 1000+ investors, 100+ unicorns, 300+ incubators & accelerators, 3,000+ conference delegates, 10+ country delegations, 3000+ future entrepreneurs and 50,000+ business visitors from across the country.

The first-of-its-kind startup event registered record participation, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said. The confluence of stakeholders and experts is expected to help further develop emerging sectors like deeptech, agritech, biotech, medtech, AI and gaming, the ministry added.

The first day of Startup Mahakumbh witnessed insightful remarks from government officials and ecosystem veterans, along with discussions on multiple topics ranging from artificial intelligence (AI) to omnichannel strategy for D2C brands.

The second day of the event featured Kris Gopalakrishnan from Axilor Ventures and Infosys Science Foundation, Ajit Chavan from Government e Marketplace (GeM), Sandeep Aggarwal from Droom and Nitya Sharma from Simpl, among others, as speakers.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Startup Hub (MSH) hosted two insightful sessions on the second day which focussed on providing valuable guidance to early stage startup founders for fundraising.