Development of DPI has steered growth of start-ups in the country: Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Founder, Info Edge India
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, December 9, 2023: Addressing FICCI’s 96 TH Annual General Meeting and
Annual Convention, on the theme- ‘The World’s Growth Engine’, Mr Sanjeev
Bikhchandani, Founder and Executive Vice Chairman, Info Edge India Ltd, said that
the development of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPIs) in India in the last decade has
steered the growth of start-ups in the country.
Addressing the session on ‘Start-Ups: Driving Innovation and Entrepreneurship’
on Day 2 of FICCI’s AGM and Annual Convention, Mr Bikhchandani said
that Research & Development in India is currently in a better position than it was a
decade ago, which has spurred a cluster of Start-up IPOs in the Delhi- NCR region.
“While there is no shortage of funding for early-stage start-ups, support from
Government of India in providing potential client markets in sectors like defence-
tech, drones are, however, pertinent since government is the main buyer,” he said.
Ms Ghazal Alagh, Co-founder, Mamaearth (Honasa Consumer Pvt Ltd), said that
the start-up ecosystem is evolving in favour 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 of India, are a remarkable step to
empower students to build their start-up, she said.
Mr Rohit Bansal, Co-founder, Titan Capital and Ace Vector Group note that
measures such as providing a level playing field between public and private
companies in terms of taxation are essential to boost the start-up ecosystem in the
country. “’Now’ is a ‘Golden Time’ for bright minds to build a start-up,” he added.
Mr Neel Mehta, Director & Co-founder, Asteria Aerospace Ltd, noted that sectors
such as Defence, Space, AI-ML, and Biotech, among others, are key beneficiaries of
Deep Tech. “Public awareness with reference to the use of drones has improved
significantly in India over the last decade. The deep tech sector had also seen new
age job creation, and building on the right theme and ensuring proper execution can
be the key for a start-up’s success,” he said.
He further stated that two years back when the Govt of India launched the Drone
Policy, a 30 per cent rise in the number of start-ups in the drone sector was
witnessed. The government is also financially supporting Research & Development
in this sector.
Mr Vikram Chandra, Journalist and Founder, Editorji Technologies noted that start-
up is the buzzword amongst the youth, but it is not always as simple as it seems. “It
is a great place to be, but there are challenges as well. It is important to navigate
between challenges and opportunities,” he said.
