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India must strive to be amongst the top 25 in the Global Innovation Index, said Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal today.
“Our startups are the key reason behind India’s meteoric rise in Global Innovation Index (GII) from 76 in 2014 to 46 in 2021,” the Minister said virtually addressing the Startup India Innovation Week launch, which started on Monday.
Goyal called upon stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem to work with the government to move to the top 25 position in the GII.
Startups in India have turned the COVID-19 crises into an opportunity and made 2021 the year of unicorns as the country now has the third largest number of unicorns (82) in the world, the Minister observed. India pushed the UK by one rank to take the third position in 2021. The top two countries with the largest number of unicorns are the US and China.
From 2018 to 2021, more than 6 lakh jobs have been created by startups and in 2021 alone more than 2 lakh jobs have been created, per government figures.
Pointing out that startups were creating job opportunities across the country, Goyal said that almost 4 startups are recognised in India every hour with 45 per cent belonging to Tier II & III cities. It is also empowering women ast 46 per cent of startups are found by women entrepreneurs.
The success of IPOs of many startups is an encouraging trend and implies that they have the ability to become the new multi-national corporations. He said that startups should focus on healthifying India through their innovations.
Government has been acting as a ‘facilitator’ by focusing on simplification, facilitation and bringing ease in starting & doing business, the Minister pointed out. Listing some measure to improve ease of business for startups, Goyal said that there was an 80 per cent rebate on patent filing, 50 per cent on trademark filing fees and relaxation in public procurement norms. Other measures include self-certification under labour and environmental laws, Funds of Funds for startups, income tax exemption for 3 out of 10 years and Seed Fund scheme of Rs. 945 Cr.
An improved IPR regime has resulted in the registration of 1.16 million trademarks in last 4 years, he added.
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