In the last decade, the growth of startups in India has been influenced by the development of digital public infrastructure (DPI), according to industry leaders speaking at FICCI’s annual general meeting and annual convention on Saturday.
Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Founder of Info Edge India Ltd, highlighted that research and development in India are now in a better position than a decade ago. This improvement has led to a surge in startup IPOs in the Delhi-NCR region.
“While there is no shortage of funding for early-stage startups, support from the government in providing potential client markets in sectors like defence-tech, drones are, however, pertinent since government is the main buyer,” he told the gathering.
Ghazal Alagh, Co-founder of Mamaearth (Honasa Consumer Pvt Ltd), said that the startup ecosystem is evolving in favor of entrepreneurship.
“The rising middle class in India has been a large enabler for consumer facing companies. State-level incubation centres, setup by the government, are a remarkable step to empower students to build their startup,” she said.
Rohit Bansal, Co-founder of Titan Capital and Ace Vector Group, emphasized the importance of measures like ensuring a level-playing field in taxation between public and private companies to enhance the startup ecosystem in India.
Neel Mehta, Director, and Co-founder of Asteria Aerospace Ltd, identified sectors such as defence, space, AI/ML, and biotech as significant beneficiaries of Deep Tech.
“Public awareness with reference to the use of drones has improved significantly in India over the last decade. The deeptech sector had also seen new-age job creation, and building on the right theme and ensuring proper execution can be the key for a startup’s success,” he noted.
