Govt nudging companies to step up engagement with startups, says DPIIT secy

The government is urging corporates to work more closely with startups to support entrepreneurship, cut manufacturing costs and strengthen domestic supply chains, DPIIT secretary said

The government is asking companies to step up engagement with startups to support entrepreneurship and bolster local manufacturing, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary Amardeep Singh Bhatia said on Wednesday.

 

According to Bhatia, involving startups to build products and integrating them into supply chains would help firms reduce manufacturing costs substantially.

 

“We have been pushing corporates to deepen their engagements with startups... Companies can outsource problems to startups,” Bhatia said in a briefing ahead of the 10th anniversary of the government’s Startup India Initiative on Friday.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 10th anniversary programme.

   

Several pacts have also been signed by DPIIT with companies to push them to work with startups.

 

Launched on January 16, 2016, the Startup India Initiative has rolled out several programmes with the objective of supporting entrepreneurs. It is also to build a robust startup ecosystem and transform India into a country of job creators instead of job seekers, according to DPIIT.

 

More than 200,000 entities have been recognised as startups by the DPIIT so far.

 

Bhatia further said that the government is increasingly aligning foreign direct investment (FDI) with the domestic manufacturing and research ecosystem.

 

This would ensure that the capital supports long-term value creation rather than remaining concentrated on consumption- driven sectors.

 

Going ahead,  Bhatia said the focus is on deep-tech startups, where they take forward deep research and convert it into commercial products.

 

“We have deepened the linkage between research and development (R&D) labs with the startup ecosystem. In order to deepen it further, funding support has been increased substantially for research,” he said.