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India and the Startups

To start with, Startup is when someone tries to solve a problem or comes up with a more efficient way of doing something than the ongoing methods.

According to the Economic Survey 2021-22, India has become the third largest startup ecosystem in the world after the US and China. Currently, 65000+ startups exist in India. But how did India achieve this feat ?

For this we have to go back a few decades. It was in the 1980s when the Rajiv Gandhi government introduced the liberalisation of the Computer Industry. Also during the same period, NASSCOM was also established. These two things laid the foundation for the growth of the digital industry in India.

Later in the 90s came the LPG reforms that opened up the Indian market to the global world. The young minds got exposure to the ideas, information, knowledge, concepts, methods etc that were travelling across the globe.

And the final thrust was provided by The Great Recession of 2008. With the fear of losing their jobs, people decide to move ahead of the job culture and take a step forward towards the startup world. Many established businesses of today were found in that period like Zomato and Flipkart.

And since then, the startup culture has only witnessed a positive growth rate in the country, where now there are a total of 103 unicorns in India, which is another remarkable feat achieved by the budding entrepreneurs of our country.

The factors behind the success

According to Wikipedia, India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% below the age of 35. The human resource in this age bracket holds an immense amount of potential in terms of talent, knowledge, ideas, skills and the most important, risk taking ability. The recent ‘Shark Tank India’ showed how the youth of our country is experimenting and finding success in every field be it education, healthcare, food & beverage industry, artificial intelligence, virtual reality etc.

The government has also made sure to provide all the basic amenities for the startup culture to nourish properly. From starting programs aligned with the growth of startups like Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, Startup India and Stand-Up India to providing subsidies for the new sectors to provide them a level playing field, the government has chipped in its efforts. The Ease of Doing Business report by the World Bank also showcases India’s positive growth in ranking from 142 in 2014 to 63 in 2022.

The third factor that comes into play is the affordable and accessible use of internet services. The penetration of the internet in the rural and remote areas has played a positive role in both ways – increasing the customer base for the businesses and providing a tool in the hands of the people to start their own entrepreneurial journey.

The advent of technology has also played a major role in the rise of startups. The investment in the leading-edge technologies like Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, IoT, Virtual Reality etc have changed the face of the businesses and how they work. The amalgamation of the new-age technologies with the new business ideas is bringing unique and fresh solutions/approaches to deliver groundbreaking results.

The last and the main factor that helps a startup idea to turn into reality is the funding. Angel investors, venture capitalists, seed fundings, grants etc are the multiple sources that help the startups today and help the seed of innovation to germinate.

Conclusion

The Indian market holds a huge potential and opportunity for the startups as well as the breeding ground for more new startups to emerge and flourish. The employment opportunities and the technical advancement that they bring to the table are beneficial for the overall growth of the nation.

But to keep this positive growth rate going, many areas need to be addressed and be taken care of. Startups need to be seen from a broader perspective and thus steps should be taken in that direction.

Investments that foster the overall economic growth of the country should be brought in. Startups being a part of the broader economy will eventually benefit from it.
The current shackles in the ease of doing business should be removed, by improving the existing startup related policies.

Though the funding model has improved, startups that are in their initial stages struggle from the funding perspective as they hold a risk factor with themselves. The government needs to step in here and bring in adequate measures to help the startups that are in their infancy to grow and flourish. Also the support should be extended to entrepreneurs from tier 2, 3 and 4 cities to provide them the level playing field.

The road for the startup culture to progress is well laid, now it’s time to convert it into an express highway.

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