Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal on Tuesday hailed the pivotal role being played by startups in India’s journey towards becoming a developed nation by 2047 and announced that a ‘Startup Maha Kumbh’ is scheduled to be organised in March.

Addressing the Startup Awards & State Ranking Awards function here, the Union minister commended the significant progress made in the startup sector over the last eight years, stating that what was once a novelty has now become an integral part of the national mainstream.

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Mr Goyal highlighted the diverse sectors in which startups are making substantial contributions, ranging from MedTech, FinTech, AgroTech to the aviation sector, drones, and simulators. He identified tourism as a sector with untapped potential, encouraging startups to explore innovative ideas around sustainable tourism.

The minister pointed out that the Wed-in-India initiative as suggested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi should also be noted by the potential startups.

He expressed confidence in the entrepreneurial spirit of both the young and old, urging them to contribute their unique perspectives and ideas to the startup ecosystem. He reiterated that age should not be a barrier to engage with new ideas and foster innovation. He urged individuals, regardless of age, to actively participate in the startup ecosystem, emphasising that every person has the potential to contribute to the growth of India.

Mr Goel noted that India has emerged as the third-largest startup ecosystem globally, realising the dreams of countless entrepreneurs and introducing innovative ways of doing business. Expressing appreciation for the achievements in sectors like millets and food processing, Mr Goyal urged startups to focus on new areas such as artificial intelligence (AI). He encouraged them to come up with ideas that make life easier and revolutionize existing ways of working.

He outlined key initiatives that will be taken to further support startups, including the categorisation of startups into different sectors for more focused interactions, the sanitisation of data to identify their locations and track development stage of the startups, and efforts to ensure all startups are registered on the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) portal.

The minister called for greater collaboration and mentoring through the MAARG portal –Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience and Growth of Startup India. He emphasised the importance of outreach and on-boarding startups with the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) as the process for onboarding of startups has been simplified. Shri Goyal encouraged startups to register for patent, copyright, and trademark protections as the fees have been reduced for startups.