Start-ups need encouragement and we will provide it: Prasad

After witnessing disruptive product innovations presented by 11 software product firms curated by iSPIRT – India’s first software product industry think tank, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister for IT, Telecom and Law, said, one of his priorities is to encourage the start-up community in the country.

“Start-ups need encouragement and after listening to some of the top 3-4 issues that need to be addressed, I have decided to take immediate action on some of them. For instance, open APIs and standards will be made available to the start-up industry, with the view to ensure that we have a healthy development of applications and products in the country,” he said. Stating that the government’s top priority is to encourage electronic manufacturing in a very big way, he said, “when mobile phone penetration in India is so high, why don’t we manufacture mobile phones in India? I am pushing for it in a big way as it has immense potential for growth and employment.”

Products for smaller towns He urged start-ups to develop software products that will benefit Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns such as parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and North East and not just restrict themselves to developing products that will benefit Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi, Pune etc.

He said improving e-governance in India is another priority for the new government. “India is at the cusp of a broadband, IT and Internet revolution and I want all of you to be a part of it. I want more Googles in India and more patents coming out of India, I want more outstanding companies to keep the flag of India flying high.”

What distresses him most after listening to 30 hours of presentation is that, broadband penetration in India is less than Srilanka and Malaysia. “If you all sitting here can create wonders for the world with your innovations, why can’t we as a collective entity reach broadband to all the corners of India. I am not a technical person but I know that it is the nature of content that drives demand for that content. I have seen a lot of powerful content here, can we create content for education, healthcare, entertainment etc. If you create great content with software product innovation, India will lap it up and I will stand by you.”

Digital highways Stating that his first outing as a Minister of IT outside of Delhi is to Bangalore, he said the Prime Minister’s vision is that India must be digitally connected and every village in India must be connected with broadband.

“While Vajpayee’s government was known for national highways, Modi’s government will be known for digital highways. The PM wants all the universities, colleges and schools to be digitally connected through Wi-Fi.”

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