Leading Private Companies Must Help Young Startups Move Forward: PM Modi Create a 'startup cell' to study young startups and handhold them to accelerate their growth, said Modi to various industry leaders at a recent event

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the country's large private companies to empower Indian startups to accelerate their growth. He further stated that important industries should form a 'start-up cell' to study and support young entrepreneurs' business ventures.

Modi was addressing various industry leaders at the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the C-295 aircraft manufacturing facility in Vadodara, Gujarat. "Make the most out of the unprecedented investment confidence that has been built up in the country at the moment. Don't miss this opportunity to move forward as aggressively as you can. I would urge the players who are established in the industry to find ways to help the start-ups of the country to move forward," he said.

"The participation of the private sector in research is still limited," stated Modi, adding that efforts in this direction would help develop a stronger ecosystem of innovation and manufacturing in the country following the mantra of 'Sabka Prayas'.

Although the private sector has a long way to go in providing the country's young startups with the necessary support, some recent announcements give hope. Last month, Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, invested an undisclosed amount of seed funding in senior citizen companionship startup Goodfellows. This is the latest addition to a list of around 50 startups that Tata has invested in since his retirement in 2017. Additionally, the Tata group, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM-Calcutta), runs the TATA Social Enterprise Challenge to provide incubation support to social entrepreneurs.

While Intel India is currently running the Intel Startup Program to engage with high-potential tech startups with IP or innovative solutions, Reliance Industries Ltd recently claimed in its annual report for FY22 that the company's startup accelerator initiative, JioGenNext, has incubated 170 startups in seven years, of which 79 raised funding and 21 were acquired. Moreover, earlier this month, Google India announced the first cohort of 20 women-led startups which were selected under its Google for Startups Accelerator Women Founders program.

During his latest address in Gujarat, PM Modi further directed large industries to create a 'start-up cell' to study the start-ups founded and being run by the country's youngsters. "How can your research match their work? Provide hand-holding to them and you will see that not only you are growing very fast but even those youngsters are bringing glory to India in the world of start-ups," he said.