Piyush Goyal, Minister for Commerce and Industry, called for the creation of an international network of mentors, investors, and entrepreneurs to strengthen the global startup ecosystem. He said that this network must support and inspire startups, act as a team to facilitate the exchange of ideas, best practices, and funding mechanisms, and promote collaborations in Research and Development.
Goyal was addressing the inaugural session of the Inception Meeting of the Startup 20 Engagement Group of G20 in Hyderabad on Saturday.
He said that India was proud to highlight the progress and potential of the global startup ecosystem as the host nation of G20. Adding that Startup20 Group had been established under India's G20 Presidency for the first time, as part of India's special focus on innovation.
The commerce minister said it is not just the role of individual nations to support innovation, it will have to be the collective responsibility of world nations to nurture a global effort to incubate startup ecosystems in all parts of the world, thus creating a global startup ecosystem that is inclusive, supportive and sustainable to address global challenges.
"Innovation in today's world goes beyond achieving mere economic objectives as it also considers societal inclusion and environmental sustainability," he said.
In order to address issues and guarantee inclusive growth in India, he mentioned examples of digital public goods including Cowin, UPI, and ONDC. Piyush Goyal said that growing participation from Tier 2 and 3 markets that are swiftly embracing the latest technology, has pushed the envelope for local startups in India with new ideas to succeed.
He added that developing nations must transform themselves from being destinations for low-cost, outsourced software and support services, to becoming a global tech and innovation hubs.
He also highlighted that India had climbed to 40th rank in the Global Innovation Index (GII) of WIPO taking a huge leap of 41 places in 7 years.
(With Inputs From IANS)