Women’s inclusion in the workforce to benefit India’s journey towards becoming a developed nation: Sh. Piyush Goyal

75,000 patents granted in 10 months showcases India's abilities and will take the country forward in an innovation led growth: Sh. Goyal

Shri Piyush Goyal interacts with innovators and entrepreneurs invited for Republic Day Parade

Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal held an interaction with innovators and entrepreneurs on the eve of 75th Republic Day. Addressing the participants on occasion in New Delhi, Shri Goyal hailed the ‘nari shakti’ exposition at the Republic Day Parade as a powerful display of the women-led development of the Indian growth story. Sh. Goyal said that women’s inclusion in the formal labour force would be a huge boost to India’s journey towards a developed nnation as it would add to the value to India’s GDP. Expressing his delightment at more women joining the startup ecosystem and coming up with innovative ideas, Sh. Goyal said that 20 of the unicorns are led by women and there has been an uptake of patent holders among women. The minister informed the gathering that the Indian Patent Office has granted a record 75,000 patents in the last 10 months. This showcases India’s ability to innovate and grow rapidly, he added.

On Ease of Doing Business, the minister said that 40,000 compliances across the country have either been eliminated or simplified in a focused effort to release the burden on entrepreneurs. “There has been a significant push to reduce criminalisation of laws regarding businesses in India.”, said Sh. Goyal. The minister emphasised that the passing of the Jan Vishwas Bill by amending certain enactments for decriminalising and rationalising offences was the first step to create an atmosphere of trust-based governance for ease of doing business.

While lauding the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Shri Goyal said that it has played a pivotal role in empowering the entrepreneurs to be self-reliant and be a part of the country's growth story.  He emphasised that the PMJDY has propelled the country from being part of a ‘fragile five’ to be the fifth largest economy in the world. The minister said that India has turned into an economy where interest rates and rising inflation have reigned in despite the turbulence caused in the developed nations.

Expressing his confidence in the youth of the nation, Shri Goyal said that a collective effort from youth, especially women, would make India a corrupt-free nation and would take India’s economy to thirty-five trillion dollars. Further, he said with the launch of ‘Lakhpati Didi Scheme’, India is poised to rapidly grow and the entrepreneurs and innovators will be at the forefront of that growth story. Shri Piyush Goyal called upon startups and innovators to contribute to the innovation led growth story of India as we march towards the 100^th year of Independence in line with our resolve to become a developed nation by 2047. 

Background

The Government with an intent to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation, startups and encouraging investments in the startup ecosystem of the country launched the Startup India initiative on 16th January 2016. The Startup India initiative is playing an important role in realising the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047, the Prime Minister’s clarion call to make India a developed nation by 2047, the 100th year of independence. As a result of sustained efforts, today there are more than 1,17,000 recognised startups spread across all 36 States and UTs of the country. These recognised startups have created more than 12 lakh jobs. Over 21,800 DPIIT-recognized startups onboarded on Government e-Marketplace (GeM) have received 243,000+ orders worth Rs 18,540 crores from government entities through the GeM Startup Runway initiative.

DPIIT has undertaken numerous legislative reforms to modernise IP laws and streamline cumbersome administrative processes related to patents, trademarks, and copyrights. This has made the system more accessible. Further, DPIIT has been at the forefront of building capabilities and infrastructure to unleash innovation across the country. It has also encouraged academic institutions to strengthen their innovation capacity by providing incentives and enabling the creation of IP cells.

The department has enabled reduction of costs and compliance burden - especially for students, researchers, startups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through fee concessions and dedicated schemes like Scheme for Facilitating Start-Ups Intellectual Property Protection (SIPP). Schemes like Startup India and Mudra Yojana have enabled inventors and entrepreneurs to avail credit facilities. In essence, DPIIT has adopted a multi-pronged approach, acting as a catalyst and enabler in transforming the startup and IP landscape. Its policies and initiatives have bolstered India's competitiveness and laid the foundations for an innovation-driven economy.