Global majors to participate in Start-up India launch

The launch of the 'Start Up India' initiative later this month will see participation from founders of top global brands including Softbank, Uber and WeWork, besides 40 chief executive officers (CEOs) and venture capitalists, to encourage India's young entrepreneurs. Google will provide on-the-spot equity funding to start-ups.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the initiative on January 16 and unveil the Start-Up action plan, which will highlight initiatives and schemes being undertaken by the government to address various aspects relating to the development of a conducive ecosystem for start-ups in the country.

"About 40 leading CEOs, venture capitalist, angel investors from Silicon Valley will come down along with the participation of 2000 new age ventures," said Amitabh Kant, secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

DIPP, the nodal agency for the initiative has organised interactive talks with global leaders and venture capitalists, including Masayoshi Son, founder and CEO of SoftBank, Travis Kalanick, founder of Uber and Adam Nuemann, founder, WeWork during the launch.

"We want start-ups to flourish. There are too many issues on compliance. The intention is that the government keeps itself away. Start-ups cut across the entire ecosystem," said Kant.

The government's action plan would help start-ups penetrate tier-II and tier-III cities in sectors such as manufacturing and healthcare.