Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar predicted that over the next four to five years, the number of startups in India will increase by a factor of ten, praising India's remarkable progress in developing unicorns and startups.
The Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and IT spoke at the JITO Incubation Innovation Foundation (JIIF) Sixth Foundation Day and Investors/Startup Conclave in Hyderabad on Sunday, highlighting India's remarkable progress in creating unicorns and startups, and how they have successfully entered emerging technologies such as AI, Web3, and deep tech.
The Minister, who met with industry leaders and aspiring young entrepreneurs, highlighted India's transformational voyage since 2014.
Rather than being primarily focused on IT and ITes, the next four to five years will see a substantial increase in the number of ventures and unicorns, Chandrasekhar stated during his interaction.
"In 2014, the technological landscape of our country was constrained to IT and ITes. Since then, however, opportunities have emerged in numerous fields, including deep technology, artificial intelligence, data economy, semiconductor design, microelectronics, and high-performance computation," he said.
As a result of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foresight, what was once only one-third of the overall tech sector has expanded, presenting enormous opportunity for unicorns and startups, he said.
"From 108 unicorns, I am confident that we will reach 10,000 within the next four to five years. According to a press release, the Minister stated that the number of businesses in India would increase by a factor of 10.
Chandrasekhar also praised the industry and government's collaborative efforts to improve skill development.
Recognising the historical difficulties encountered by a significant portion of the population lacking skills, the Minister highlighted the transformative effect of PM Modi's Skill India initiative.
He stated that through strategic partnerships with both large and small businesses, the government now works closely to identify necessary skills, creating a comprehensive framework with the active participation of academic institutions, communities, and businesses.
"In 2014, three out of every four Indians were uneducated. Every year, unskilled professionals entered the workforce, and this was the legacy and reason why, for many years, we had a large number of intelligent individuals who emigrated," he said.
The elite portion of the society had access to education and skills, while the remainder were left to fend for themselves and survive on their own. He stated that the Skill India programme reversed this trend.
"We continue to work with the industry in partnership with large and small businesses, and they inform us what these skills are, as well as the government partners, in order to develop a framework through a network of academic institutions. "Community and corporate partnerships are vital to the success of new businesses," the Minister added.