Kant, while address the delegates present at the event, also said that both the countries have a lot in common and Indian startup ecosystem has to learn a lot from China. He also stated that as much as 15 per cent of total foreign investment in Indian startups comes from China and India wants it to rise. Major investment China has taken place in 25 startups.
"India has the world's second best start-up ecosystem and we are nearly 4,200 tech start-ups and the number should reach 12,000 by 2020. We need a lot of scale up funding. We have tried to develop an ecosystem that is conducive to growth of start-ups, and our start-up schemes have promoted innovation," Kant said.
Currently, a large chunk of Chinese investment in India happens in sectors including finance, consumer internet, healthcare, Edtech and SaaS (software as a service). India exported around $13.3 billion in 2017, whereas it imported close to $76 billion. “We need to push for more investment. We have the potential to redefine the economy and emerge as a global leaders,” the Niti Aayog chief added. In 2017, India-China bilateral trade was pegged at $84.44 billion. Investment from Chinese companies stood at $2 billion in India as compared to $700 million in 2016, which was triple the amount in just one year.
Further speaking about the online retailing ecosystem in India, Kant said in coming years e-commerce market will be huge in India. India’s young population will be a huge advantage coupled with business-friendly environment and the country will have 12000 technology startups in the next two years, he added.