On January 15-16, 2021, a two-day event ‘Prarambh’ – Startup India International Summit 2021 was virtually organized by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India from New Delhi. It was inaugurated by Piyush Vedprakash Goyal, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
- The inaugural event saw the participation of members of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) countries.
- The summit is a demonstration of neighbourhood first policy to boost partnership among the member countries.
–PM Modi addressed Prarambh Summit; Rs.1,000-crore ‘Startup India Seed Fund’ Announced for Startups
Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with startups and addressed the Summit on January 16, 2021.
- In an important move, he announced a Startup India Seed Fund worth Rs 1,000 crore for startups to set-up and to enhance their businesses.
Key points from his address:
— India became the third largest startup ecosystem of the world since the launch of Startup India Initiative in 2016.
–The 44% recognized startups have women directors and the number of women working in these start-ups is also very high.
–In 2014 only 4 Indian startups were in the ‘unicorn club’ now, more than 30 startups have crossed the 1 billion mark. Notably, 11 startups joined the Unicorn Club in 2020, during the Covid-19 crisis.
–More than 8,000 startups are registered with the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) and have done business worth Rs 2,300 crore of the Rs 80,000 crore total business done through the GeM portal.
–The aim for the next five years is to make Indian startups as global giants.
–India is one of the biggest nations in the start-up ecosystem with more than 41,000 start-ups with nearly 5,700 in the IT (Information Technology) sector, 3,600 in the health sector and 1,700 startups in agriculture.
Prarambh and its Objective:
As a noun, ‘Prarambh’ means ‘an auspicious beginning’. As a verb, it implies ‘to start’. It acted as a platform to bring together over 200 top policy makers, industry, academia, investors, startups and all stakeholders from over 25 countries.
Key Objectives:
–To utilize good practices from best of the global startup ecosystems.
–To showcase entrepreneurship based on innovation in India in order to attain global capital for startups, mobilize domestic capital, and to provide opportunities to Indian start-ups for accessing international markets.
–Enable ease of doing business for startups and investors.
Background:
PM Narendra Modi launched the Startup India Action Plan on January 16, 2016 which states “Organizing international events to showcase innovation and provide a collaborative platform to startups”.
- Additionally, in the Plenary Session of the 4th BIMSTEC Summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal on 30th-31st August 2018 he announced to host BIMSTEC Startup Conclave.
- The Prarambh followed the above mentioned events.
Other Key Participants:
Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra, Secretary, DPIIT, Minister of State (MoS) for Commerce & Industry, MoS (I/C) for Civil Aviation and Housing & Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri
Recent Related News:
i.On December 1, 2020, Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman delivered the Keynote Address virtually at the inauguration of the 20th Edition of Sri Lanka Economic Summit (SLES) 2020. It was organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC).
ii.Minister of State (MOS), External Affairs V Muraleedharan addressed the 6th India-CLMV (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar & Vietnam) Business Conclave 2020: “Building Bridges for Constructive Development” held in CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) HIVE, the virtual platform of CII from December 3-4, 2020.
About BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation):
- There are 7 BIMSTEC countries viz. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand.
Secretary General– Tenzin Lekphell
Headquarter– Dhaka, Bangladesh
Present Chair– Sri Lanka
