WAVE OF STARTUPS IN INDIA

It is an era of unprecedented innovations and disruptions – benefitting from the surge of start-ups armed with transformative products, business models, and capital to take on the world. Today, India is the third largest start-up economy globally (by the number of start-ups) with more than 15,000 start-ups established in 2020 up from 5,000 in 2010. The underlying enablers of this startup economy include smartphones and internet penetration, cloud computing, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), and a national payment stack in place. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared 16th January as a ‘National Start-Up Day’.

The startups categorized under six groups gave presentations to the Prime Minister on six themes- growing from roots, nudging the DNA, from local to global, technology of the future; building champions in manufacturing, and sustainable development.

Bengaluru was the city with the most unicorns. Fintech, e-commerce, and SAAS (Software as a Service) have seen the maximum number of unicorns, while health tech, ed-tech, D2C, gaming, and crypto are also close behind. India has seen four dec acorns (companies with a valuation of USD 10 billion and above so far)- Flipkart, Paytm, Byju, and Oyo Rooms.

ROLE OF START-UPS IN INDIA

Startups provide a lot of jobs as well as new products and services to help grow our economy. Entrepreneurs need to know about startups to find opportunities for success in this growing industry. Startups are essential because they break molds, fix problems, and empower individuals to build the future. They provide us with fresh innovations and services in a more efficient, cost-effective, and competitive manner. They are likely to be aware of their limitations and focus on their core strengths. This causes them to partner with other small organizations. 

Launched on 16 January 2016 by the government of India, “The Startup India” initiative has rolled out several programs. The scheme’s main objective is to promote startups and generate employment and wealth creation. This scheme has initiated several programs for building a strong ecosystem and transforming India. These programs are controlled by the Department for the Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPITT). The Startup India scheme has come up with several benefits such as ease of work, financial support, government tender, networking opportunities, and income tax benefits. A start-up that creates a solution easily will have more demand, so every startup will try to be creative with everyone thinking differently, the solutions found by different startups for the same problem are also different and the smartest and most creative ways are encouraged more and create more outsourcing to India. Indian start-ups and innovations will play a vital role in the success of the mission. The Atam Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan is a chance for Indian startups to take charge of the innovation for which we are usually dependent on global suppliers. They can lead the way by innovating and bringing to market products and services that are world-class yet affordable. They are quick to spot opportunities in adversities and innovate in a limited time and budget to make competitive products. Start-ups in sectors like automation, fin-tech, supply chain, logistics, healthcare, etc would lead the charge in this mission.

CHALLENGES FOR STARTUPS IN INDIA

Common startup problems include poor planning, poor leadership, failure to differentiate a product or service from others that are already available, ignoring the needs of customers, not learning from failure, and lack of information in marketing systems. In India, each state is interested in culture, food, custom language, outfits, etc. So what is moving in Maharashtra like hotcakes may stay immaculate in Tamil Nadu. Exhaustive learning of the area of insightful need and a down-to-earth advertising overview is of most extreme significance before venturing into the hazardous ocean of new companies. This is perhaps one of the most significant challenges that startups will face. The best way to gain global scalability is by adopting a digital transformation strategy. A digital strategy has been important for startups as consumer habits become digitized with the changing times. However, this is easier said than done for startups. They face barriers such as limited budget, lack of expertise on how to form a digital strategy, and so on. Nevertheless, Startups will have to go digital and keep up with technological trends for sustenance and modernization.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES FOR STARTUPS IN INDIA

Indian startups are now spread across the length and breadth of the entire country. The role of the state government becomes very important in developing the necessary infrastructure and support to foster the startup ecosystem. Due to the given constraints of infrastructure and supporting services, India needs to build upon low-cost and high-impact solutions. A 10,000 crore rupees fund is set up by the government to provide funds to startups as venture capital. The government is also giving guarantees to lenders to encourage banks and other financial institutions to provide venture capital. The government launched various programs to develop and encourage entrepreneurship in India such as ASPIRE (A Scheme For Promotion of Innovation, Rural Industries, and Entrepreneurship), PMMY( Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana), and DIDF (Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund), Startup India seed Fund, etc.

• In present times startups in India are witnessing a golden chapter in the history of Indian entrepreneurship. However, the Indian government still has a crucial role in positioning India as the Tech Garage of the world. It should act as a catalyst, and bring together the synergies of the private sector with the aim of innovating for India and the world.