Startups to help India acquire global dominance in technology sphere

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has said that technology, innovation and problem-solving approach of startups is a force multiplier that will help India acquire global dominance in the sphere of technology and innovation. He was speaking at the 25th Bengaluru Tech Summit on Friday.

Goyal said that Indian startups 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 have pushed world trade back and when countries are falling into a recessionary mode, it is our bright young boys and girls who have helped India lead global recovery,” he said.

According to a Commerce Ministry release, 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 are examples of platforms developed by the country’s young innovators.

Speaking of the resilience of Indian economy, the Minister said that inflation is falling in the country and even today it is half the level it used to be 10 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 per cent,” he added.

He expressed confidence that the country will continue to power the world economic recovery and when the country reaches 100 years of independence in 2047, it will be among the top three economies in the world.

Speaking of the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) initiative, Goyal said that the government under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to democratise e-commerce.

The government is trying to save the small mom-and-pop stores by giving them an opportunity to participate in the vibrant e-commerce 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. (ANI)