The launch of startup India seed fund intend to provide opportunities for new start-ups to flourish in the country
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently announced the launch of a Rs 1,000 crore startup India seed fund intending to provide opportunities to new startups to flourish in the country. The Prime Minister interacted with startups and addressed ‘Prarambh: Startup India International Summit’ on Jan 17, 2020 via video conferencing. Ministers from BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) countries and Union Ministers Prakash Javadekar, Piyush Goyal, and Som Parkash were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that start-ups are changing the demographic characteristics of today’s business. He pointed out that 44 per cent of recognized startups have women directors and the number of women working in this startup is very high. Similarly, 45 per cent of startups are in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, working as the brand ambassadors of the local products. Every state is supporting and incubating startups as per local possibilities and 80 percent of districts of the country are now part of the Startup India mission.
“We are trying to create a start-up system which is based on the mantra ’of the youth, by the youth, for the youth,” he added.
The Prime Minister also launched a booklet titled ‘Evolution of Startup India’ detailing the experiences of India’s 5-year journey in the startup space. The Prime Minister pointed out new possibilities in the food and agriculture area as people are becoming more aware of their diet. India has paid special attention to the growth of these sectors as an Agri Infra Fund has been created with a capital base of one lakh crore. With these new avenues, startups are collaborating with farmers and playing a significant role in taking products from farm to table with better ease and quality.