Union commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal today said that Futuristic vision combined with decisiveness has provided India with a solid Startup ecosystem. At the inauguration of 1st Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Startup Forum, he said that Youth is our wealth, and in these times of vulnerability & uncertainty, they have responded with agility, adaptability & ability.

Shri Goyal said that our Startups have demonstrated their ability to convert this severe adversity into a great potential of the future. Lauding Indian Startups for demonstrating high energy & enthusiasm to give many timely & cost-effective solutions, he said “Our hunger for growth is demonstrated by the number of EdTech apps for upscaling & education which have provided free access to content for learning to millions of Indians during the COVID period. All our youngsters have created many critical applications which have helped many sectors go digital and face the problems of the pandemic with confidence & emerge successfully as we unlock economy and expand economic activity.”

Shri Goyal said that Young firms in India have reacted fast & very flexibly to COVID pandemic by sharing our best practices & knowledge, engaging corporates & investors, Monetising & mobilising capital, Setting up incubators, and Providing exposure & scale.  He said that through these, innovative ideas of startups will get larger engagement.

Shri Goyal said that India recognised some very interesting Startups in the first-ever national Startup award programme. “We provided an encouraging framework to have more Startups come up with brilliant ideas”, he added. He said that Prime Minister has been at the forefront of India's engagement with the startups. The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has said, "Startups are the engines of exponential growth manifesting the power of innovation”.

Lauding the initiative of SCO to include several sessions including exclusive discussions to promote women entrepreneurship, Shri Goyal said that In India, a large number of startups have been founded by women. Shri Goyal said today's launch of the SCO startup forum is the reflection of the positive attitude of all the member states to further expand the engagement & nurture the spirit of innovation amongst our member states. He said that one of the common threads that knit the SCO member states together is the spirit of entrepreneurship. Launch of the SCO Startup Forum is the reflection of the positive attitude of all member states to nurture innovation amongst all, he added. He said that this engagement with Startups of all member states will further develop this ecosystem and encourage & expand the Startups' vision, as in this globalised world, our problems have also become planetary in scale & effect.

Startup ecosystem resilience and international collaboration driving innovation, scaling, and inclusive entrepreneurship during pandemic. India's startup ecosystem has responded to the pandemic with agile digital solutions and expanded EdTech access; government measures - national awards, incubators, investor engagement, capital mobilisation and corporate partnerships - are framed as supporting innovation, scaling and monetisation. The SCO Startup Forum is presented as an international platform to share best practices, deepen cross border collaboration and broaden market exposure, with explicit emphasis on promoting women entrepreneurs.