Vice President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar will inaugurate a Mega StartUp Expo under the theme “Emerging StartUp Trends in North India” tomorrow at Kathua, the border town sharing its boundaries with Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, in the august presence of Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space and Vice President CSIR.

Disclosing this at a press conference at the National Media Centre here in Delhi, Dr Jitendra Singh said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the government is doing everything to ensure that the StartUp ecosystem in the country is sustainable.

The Minister said that from over 350 in 2014 the number of StartUps in India today is more than 1.30 lakh and number of unicorns more than 100, while India is rated at number 3 in the world in its StartUp ecosystem. He said that equal participation of all stakeholders and early industry linkage are necessary to ensure sustainable StartUps. He urged the media community to help spread awareness about the enabling StartUp ecosystem in the country.

Kathua Mega Expo scheduled tomorrow will not only boost StartUps in North India but will also promote B towns outreach as far as StartUp culture is concerned, said Dr JitendraSingh

Referring to the back-to-back success of ISRO including Chandrayaan 3, Aditya Mission and recently launched XPoSat, the Minister said that even though talent was never lacking in the country, the enabling environment was created in the last 10 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi.

Answering questions from the media, the Minister said that digitalization and monitoring systems have minimised the procedural delays and created an enabling environment for StartUps. Minister also said that the government is working on multiple levels to boost the startup ecosystem. He said that startups can become large scale entrepreneurship, making use of such schemes.

The Startup Expo under the theme, “Emerging Startup Trend in North India”, is being organized jointly by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), DBT, GoI and CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM), Jammu, wherein a total of 25 Startup from North India, i.e. from Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Delhi would be showcasing their innovations and products.

The event is organized with the specific objective to create a convergence point for budding entrepreneurs and seasoned mentors, to foster innovation, collaboration, and growth. The event encapsulates the spirit of pushing boundaries, embracing change, creating solutions and ushering new opportunities that address real-world challenges and will witness various innovations by 25 selected startup, in varied sectors which includes, agriculture, industrial biotechnology, medical & diagnostic devices, food technology, nutraceuticals, aroma and space, etc. During the expo,StartUps will exhibit their products, prototypes, and services, providing attendees with hands-on experiences of cutting-edge technologies. The event will also offer ample networking time, allowing participants to connect with potential co-founders, investors, mentors, collaborators and industry people.

This event will also be valuable for the local youth, college and school students, budding entrepreneurs, young farmers, and women of the Jammu region to be acquainted with the government startup schemes, funding opportunities and various other initiatives that are meant to strengthen the youth. It will also encourage the youth to start a career as a StartUp and facilitate the country to become self-reliant.

After inauguration, the Vice President would also interact with the distinguished gathering of traders, academicians, technocrats and members of the civil society, including the representatives of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) of the region.

Dr. N Kalaiselvi, Secretary, DSIR and DG, CSIR, Shri Chaitanya Murti, Joint Secretary, Department of Biotechnology and Dr Jitendra Kumar, MD BIRAC also spoke at the press meet.

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