Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal today said Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) would democratize e-commerce and will protect small businesses by granting them equal opportunity.

The Minister was virtually addressing the fifth edition of the annual Launchpad-The Entrepreneurship Summit organized by BITS, Pilani.

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Paying his tributes to Nanaji Deshmukh, an illustrious alumnus of BITS Pilani, Goyal said Nanaji Deshmukh’s life and work has been an inspiration to many.

Quoting Steve Jobs, the Minister said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower”. Highlighting that BITS had a history of producing innovators and risk takers, he spoke of a number of BITSians who had successfully ventured into diverse fields like cinema, writing, business and even social service.

Goyal opined that the motto of BITS, ‘knowledge is supreme power’, is more relevant than ever in today’s era of knowledge economy. Observing that BITS students had made a name for themselves in the world of innovation and entrepreneurship, the Minister pointed out that 10 per cent of India’s unicorns were founded by BITS alumni.

He said that laboratories, mentorship, incubators and funding are the four essential elements for a healthy startup ecosystem and added that the Centre of Incubation, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) at BITS provided all four.

The Union Commerce and Industry Minister applauded the flexible academic structure of BITS that aided innovation during the college years of the students and said that it resonated in large measure with the new education policy that the Government has introduced after extensive consultations. He asked other colleges to learn from the BITS model and mould job creators rather than job seekers.

Speaking of the great leaps India was taking in areas like fintech, agritech and marketplaces, Goyal said PM Modi had given the mantra of IT + IT = IT (Info Technology + Indian Talent = India Tomorrow) for India’s future. He said that we must aspire to make IT and associated sector a trillion-dollar industry.