The first-ever Startup India “Innovation Week” was inaugurated by Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry. Its goal is to bring India’s top startups, entrepreneurs, investors, incubators, funding entities, banks, policymakers, and other stakeholders together on a single platform to celebrate entrepreneurship and promote innovation, as well as to demonstrate the breadth and depth of entrepreneurialism across the country.

According to Goyal, his ministry can now recognize at least four businesses in an hour, and the government has recognized over 60,000 startups to date. “We must all see failure as a stepping stone to success,” Goyal said, highlighting three objectives: “strengthening Make-In-India, innovation, and mentoring fresh talent.”

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) hosted the Startup India Innovation Week from January 10 to 16 to commemorate India’s 75th year of independence, and to highlight the startup ecosystem’s exemplary growth, and serve as a platform for interaction, deliberation, and discussion for future potential startups. The year 2021 has been recognized “Year of Unicorns” in the startup world.

With the world’s third-largest startup environment, India is establishing itself as a worldwide innovation powerhouse. Over 61,000 startups have been recognized by the DPIIT so far. With at least one startup from each state and UT, these companies have created roughly 6 lakh jobs across 55 industries and 633 districts since 2016. Women lead 45 percent of companies in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

With the participation of states/UTs and various departments of the Central government, the week-long program will address key aspects of the startup ecosystem through interactive sessions, workshops, and presentations based on themes such as Academia & Mentorship Support to Startups, Incubation and Acceleration Support to Startups, Market Access through Corporates & Government to Startups, and Funding & International Avenues to Go Global.

Various parallel events, such as Experience Booths, Pitching or Reverse Pitching Sessions, and Innovation Showcases, will be held in conjunction with the highlighted themes.

In a closed-door event on January 15th, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to interact with companies and address Startup India Innovation Week through video conference.