PIB | 26 Jan, 2024
Union
Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal held an interaction with
innovators and entrepreneurs on the eve of 75th Republic Day. Addressing
the participants on occasion in New Delhi, Shri Goyal hailed the ‘nari
shakti’ exposition at the Republic Day Parade as a powerful display of
the women-led development of the Indian growth story.
Goyal said
that women’s inclusion in the formal labour force would be a huge boost
to India’s journey towards a developed nnation as it would add to the
value to India’s GDP. Expressing his delightment at more women joining
the startup ecosystem and coming up with innovative ideas, Goyal
said that 20 of the unicorns are led by women and there has been an
uptake of patent holders among women.
The minister informed the
gathering that the Indian Patent Office has granted a record 75,000
patents in the last 10 months. This showcases India’s ability to
innovate and grow rapidly, he added.
On
Ease of Doing Business, the minister said that 40,000 compliances
across the country have either been eliminated or simplified in a
focused effort to release the burden on entrepreneurs.
“There has been a
significant push to reduce criminalisation of laws regarding businesses
in India.”, said Sh. Goyal. The minister emphasised that the passing of
the Jan Vishwas Bill by amending certain enactments for decriminalising
and rationalising offences was the first step to create an atmosphere
of trust-based governance for ease of doing business.
While
lauding the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Shri Goyal said that it has
played a pivotal role in empowering the entrepreneurs to be
self-reliant and be a part of the country's growth story. He emphasised
that the PMJDY has propelled the country from being part of a ‘fragile
five’ to be the fifth largest economy in the world. The minister said
that India has turned into an economy where interest rates and rising
inflation have reigned in despite the turbulence caused in the developed
nations.
Expressing
his confidence in the youth of the nation, Shri Goyal said that a
collective effort from youth, especially women, would make India a
corrupt-free nation and would take India’s economy to thirty-five
trillion dollars. Further, he said with the launch of ‘Lakhpati Didi
Scheme’, India is poised to rapidly grow and the entrepreneurs and
innovators will be at the forefront of that growth story.
Goyal called upon startups and innovators to contribute to the
innovation led growth story of India as we march towards the 100th year of Independence in line with our resolve to become a developed nation by 2047.
The
Government with an intent to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing
innovation, startups and encouraging investments in the startup
ecosystem of the country launched the Startup India initiative on 16th
January 2016.
The Startup India initiative is playing an important role
in realising the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047, the Prime Minister’s
clarion call to make India a developed nation by 2047, the 100th year of
independence. As a result of sustained efforts, today there are more
than 1,17,000 recognised startups spread across all 36 States and UTs of
the country.
These recognised startups have created more than 12 lakh
jobs. Over 21,800 DPIIT-recognized startups onboarded on Government
e-Marketplace (GeM) have received 243,000+ orders worth Rs 18,540 crores
from government entities through the GeM Startup Runway initiative.
DPIIT
has undertaken numerous legislative reforms to modernise IP laws and
streamline cumbersome administrative processes related to patents,
trademarks, and copyrights. This has made the system more accessible.
Further, DPIIT has been at the forefront of building capabilities and
infrastructure to unleash innovation across the country. It has also
encouraged academic institutions to strengthen their innovation capacity
by providing incentives and enabling the creation of IP cells.
The
department has enabled reduction of costs and compliance burden -
especially for students, researchers, startups and Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through fee concessions and dedicated schemes
like Scheme for Facilitating Start-Ups Intellectual Property Protection
(SIPP).
Schemes like Startup India and Mudra Yojana have enabled
inventors and entrepreneurs to avail credit facilities. In essence,
DPIIT has adopted a multi-pronged approach, acting as a catalyst and
enabler in transforming the startup and IP landscape.
Its policies and
initiatives have bolstered India's competitiveness and laid the
foundations for an innovation-driven economy.