Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Textiles, stated that entrepreneurs should incorporate and list in India rather than moving to tax havens. He also asked them to contact the government if they had any concerns, promising that the administration would work to resolve them.
Speaking at the 'Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)-Global Unicorn Summit-Shaping 1,000 Unicorns by 2030,' In New Delhi, Goyal emphasised that cases of revenue manipulation, data fraud, tax evasion, and other malpractices must be addressed early on, otherwise the entrepreneurial spirit of fledgling firms will be stifled, with severe consequences for the startup ecosystem.
Goyal has urged for increased transparency in the startup environment, as well as the establishment of higher norms and benchmarks, as well as more self-regulation. He urged entrepreneurs to look long-term in order to generate long-term wealth for themselves and society.
He also stressed the importance of bolstering ethics and corporate governance standards in companies.
Venture capitalists, according to the Minister, must also promote and safeguard intellectual property developed by young entrepreneurs, provide expertise to help them scale up, and look for new sources of money. He hoped that Indian intellectual property would benefit the rest of the world, but he insisted that India be the principal beneficiary of these innovations. Shri Goyal echoed the Prime Minister's appeal for 'voice for local' and 'local to global,' saying that no one could be better than our startups to fulfil these mantras.
Shri Goyal highlighted that India's consumer digital economy is worth roughly USD 100 billion and is predicted to grow to USD 800 billion by 2030, citing cyber security and data privacy as critical challenges facing the global economy as digitization grows. He stressed the importance of safeguarding the vast amounts of data generated by digital technology companies.
Speaking of the Indian economy's tech revolution, which has seen unicorns emerge in Fintech, Edtech, Healthtech, e-Commerce, and media, among other sectors, the Minister recalled that the National Startup Advisory Council (NSAC) was formed within 2-3 months of the Startup India Global VC Summit 2019, and that it has done a fantastic job in promoting innovation and startups.
Goyal emphasised that Indian companies are now providing some exceptional, high-quality answers to society's modern concerns. He cited Qure.ai, a Mumbai-based startup that uses deep learning algorithms to interpret X-rays and CT scans in seconds, and CropIn Technology, a Bengaluru-based startup that delivers one-stop SaaS-based solutions to farmers, including real-time weather forecasts and crop yield predictions.
The Minister stated that technology makes the impossible possible when discussing the need to foster companies whose business models are based on high-tech innovation in engineering, defence, or substantial scientific advancements. He stated that the growth of the digital commerce metaverse will open up new chances for users and providers to connect, and he requested that the metaverse be used to enhance trade and commerce.
He believes that in India's quest to become Aatmanirbhar in the energy and defence sectors, there is a lot of white space that entrepreneurs may cover, reducing our reliance on imports. He noted that space is another area where the government is encouraging private companies to collaborate with ISRO.
'Don't just keep your dreams local, make them global,' the Minister said, quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and adding that many of India's startups were already venturing beyond the country's borders and making a name for themselves in both emerging economies and the developed world by being scalable and affordable. Shri Goyal, while urging the people to buy from startups and encourage B2B buying from them, also stated that entrepreneurs must be fostered by subscribing to their IPOs and giving them access to domestic capital.