Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal lauded the visionary and astute leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi over the last 9 years which has turned India into the 3rd largest StartUp ecosystem of the world.

In his keynote address at the Valedictory Session of the Annual E-Summit Consortium 2023 of Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT), Nagpur today through virtual mode, the Minister said that India is respected and valued across the world as a centre of technology. He noted that as a nation, India has found its true respect in the comity of nations and new Bharat is offering friendship and partnership to the world.

India is moving relentlessly on the path of becoming the largest economy of the world while ensuring the growth is sustainable and inclusive, Shri Goyal said. He noted that the efforts of the government have led to successful steering of India’s economy, efficient handling of COVID pandemic and laying of foundation blocks of an emerging superpower. The Minister also appreciated VNIT for bringing together different stakeholders like investors, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, etc. on a common forum and encouraging startups and entrepreneurship in the region.

The Minister said that Indian youth are demonstrating huge talents and capabilities across the world with Indians heading global companies. He said that the journey of Atmanirbhar Bharat is powered by technology and innovation which is helping the youth become job creators rather than job seekers. He stated that over 90,000 startups registered with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) have created a million jobs directly and many more indirectly.

He appreciated the startups for providing solutions which are simple but highly effective for people & businesses; this improves Ease of Doing Business and ease of living. He also said that there is gender parity in startups as nearly half of the startups are having at least one Woman Director and women entrepreneurs are leading many successful startups. He opined that startups make India a nation of technology & ideas.

The Minister highlighted the achievements of the government in good governance, e-governance, whole-of-government approach of working, National Education Policy 2020, circular economy, renewable energy, climate change, etc. He said that digital connectivity & urbanisation in smaller towns & cities is being undertaken to enable youth to work in hybrid mode catering to the demand of Indian technical & managerial talent across the world.

The Minister said that it is significant that India’s overall exports in FY 2022-23 is expected to be around US$ 765 Billion in the 75th year of independence, with growth in both goods & services, when the global situation is so challenging. He also mentioned that the landmark collection of Goods and Services Tax in February 2023 is the result of greater formalisation and significant growth momentum of the economy. He said that the recently released Foreign Trade Policy 2023 has several features reflecting Atmanirbhar Bharat as a powerful and strong nation ready to engage with the world as an equal.

He said that the government is working for the convergence of academia, industry and investors. He opined that the way forward for India is transformation through continuous reformation resulting in a new Bharat which is aspirational and progressing at a very high speed.

The Minister said that indigenous & innovative thinking is the need of the hour and the students at VNIT will take this spirit of innovation along with them across the country.

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