Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal has said that technology, innovation and problem-solving approach of start-ups is a force multiplier which will help India acquire global dominance in the sphere of technology and innovation. He was speaking at the 25th Bangaluru Tech Summit in Bengaluru today.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Goyal said that Indian Start-ups are almost playing the role of a booster dose in the post pandemic recovery that India is leading from the front. Despite geo-political challenges that has pushed world trade back and when countries are falling into recessionary mode, it is our bright young boys and girls who have helped India lead global recovery, he said.
Shri Goyal gave examples of the recent big innovations by the Indian tech industry that have been noticed in the world. He said that initiatives like unified payment gateway, UPI, managing Covid vaccination and a common identity card for over a billion people in form of Aadhaar Card, health care through Ayushman Bharat and supply of rations seamlessly to the poorest with One nation one ration card – these are all examples of platforms developed by our young innovators.
Speaking of the resilience of Indian economy, the Minister said that our inflation is in fact falling and even today it is half the level it used to be ten years ago. We have a situation where through eight years of relentless efforts to strengthen the basic structure of Indian economy and having mandated the central bank in 2014-15 to keep inflation in check we have had an average rate of inflation of about 4.5 percent over this period, he said. We still have inflation fairly under control at 6.5 percent, he added. He expressed the confidence that we will continue to power the world economic recovery and when we reach 100 years of independence in 2047 we will certainly be among the top three economies in the world.
Speaking of Bengaluru, Shri Goyal said that the city has truly unleashed a new era for India as we march on the journey to become a developed nation. On this occasion we can look back on the laurels that Bengaluru has achieved, he said. He pointed out that over 40 out of the 100 unicorns are housed in Bengaluru and a huge ecosystem has been created here in form of private equity investors, venture capitalists, R&D centres, incubation centres, the very high quality of talent and manpower skills. Karnataka and Bengaluru are the flagbearers of India of tomorrow, he added.
Speaking of the ONDC initiative, Shri Goyal said that the government under the guidance of Shri Narendra Modi is trying to democratise ecommerce. The government is trying to save the small mom and pop stores by giving them an opportunity to participate in the vibrant ecommerce network, he said. Bengaluru will have a big role to play in this development and when this initiative succeeds and is known globally, it will be remembered that it started in Bengaluru with the initial testing being done in this city, he added.
Shri Goyal pointed out that India has taken up the presidency of G20 this year from 1st of December. It is great opportunity to showcase India’s achievements and opportunities to the rest of the world, he said. We are together going to work to make sure that our start-ups and innovators get the opportunity to present themselves at the world stage, he added.