Centre mulls Digital India Startup Hub to reach $1 Trillion digital economy

“Innovation, Innovation and Innovation is the mantra of going forward,” the minister said as he urged students and start-ups to acquire skills in emerging technologies and highlighted the importance of learning skills for India’s expanding digital economy.

New Delhi:The Centre on Sunday said it is going to set up a Digital India Start-up Hub to promote start-up ecosystems and coordinate their initiatives at the national level soon, according to an official release.

“Soon Digital India Start-up Hub, an institutional framework, shall be established to further promote start-up ecosystem and to centrally coordinate start-up initiatives at the national level. We are making efforts to connect start-ups with our eco-system so that government procurement can be met with innovative solutions by start-ups,” Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar said.

He was addressing a gathering of start-ups, entrepreneurs, students and the faculty of the Gujarat University, Ahmedabad on ‘New India for Young India: Techade of Opportunities.’ Noting that innovation is going to drive the future, the minister said, “Indian start-ups and entrepreneurs will drive the economy towards the $5 Trillion target and the digital economy towards the $1 Trillion goal.”

“Innovation, Innovation and Innovation is the mantra of going forward,” the minister said as he urged students and start-ups to acquire skills in emerging technologies and highlighted the importance of learning skills for India’s expanding digital economy. The minister answered questions related to tech issues like blockchain, cryptocurrency, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Metaverse from the audience. He also gave them insights into the upcoming sectors like drone technology and the space sector.

The minister claimed that the environment for the start-ups was more suitable now as compared to the previous regimes. “You don’t need a famous last name anymore to succeed in India. Hard work, grit, and innovation are only determinants of success. This wasn’t the case when I started my entrepreneurial journey. This is the new India that Narendra Modi Ji is building. Prior to 2014, entrepreneurship was merely an exception rather than a rule or a norm. There has never been a more opportune moment for young Indians to succeed than now,” said the minister.

He highlighted how the past eight years of the Modi government had shattered conventional narratives about India. “Long back, Indian democracy was associated with corruption and major leakages in the system. There was a PM in the 80s who gave an infamous statement that out of every 100 paise that are sent from Delhi to a beneficiary, only 15 paise actually reaches. Such was the acceptability of the so-called weak and leaky system. But now, thanks to the digital India programme launched by PM Modi in 2015, every single rupee is directly transferred into the accounts of the beneficiary living in the remotest corners of the country. We have turned this narrative of democracy being weak and leaky on its head,” said Chandrasekhar.

The Minister also visited Pandit Deen Dayal Energy University where the start-ups showcased their innovations.

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