Republic Economic Summit: From 4 unicorns to 66, how start-ups rose in India amid pandemic

In the era of increasing competition at the global level, new changes are coming in all fields of technology, giving birth to new startups. Presently, India has the world's biggest start-up movement, with the highest number of 50,000 startups. From four unicorns, India has now grown 66 unicorns (companies valued at over $1 billion), 28 of which were added this year alone. 

According to researchers, Indian startups raised over 12 billion in the first half of this year, exhibiting the rapid growth of India as a global tech and innovation hub. The other cities that made it into the Top 100 Emerging Ecosystems list are Chennai, Pune, and Hyderabad.

This can be attributed to the young people, who are changing the country's entrepreneurial ecosystem. India had only two mobile phone manufacturing factories in 2014, but now we have 260 mobile factories, attracting all the biggest mobile phone manufacturers to India.

Given this trend of fast-paced growth, many such mature companies are now keen to tap stock markets to raise further capital, as it will allow them to fuel their expansion, generate employment and make India more efficient and competitive.

The leaders of several Indian startups and venture capitalists had jointly written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging the Centre to allow direct overseas listing of homegrown Indian companies. The founders emphasized that such a move will bring reform for the start-up ecosystem and will pave the way for Indian firms to be on the global map. 

Start-Up India initiative

A significant contribution to the flourishing entrepreneurial sector comes from the Government's flagship initiative - Startup India. Launched by the prime minister on January 16, 2016, the initiative is intended to build a strong ecosystem that is conducive for the growth of startup businesses, drive sustainable economic growth, and generate large-scale employment opportunities. 

The Startup India scheme offers Income Tax Exemption for a period of three consecutive years and exemption on capital and investments above Fair Market Value, besides provision of funds for investment into startups through Alternate Investment Funds via Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

How Startups aided the nation's fight against COVID-19

The Indian startup ecosystem has taken good advantage of the second wave of COVID-19, from making masks to deployment to oxygen necessities, to bringing together essential medical equipment.

The civic authorities of the country have found support in startups, entrepreneurs, and investors in numerous forms, starting from extending funds to helping with resources. Some of the pertinent names in this long list are - OYO, Paytm, Amazon India, and  Zomato. 

• Indian hospitality chain OYO did not only provide a safe place to quarantine COVID- infected people but also collected funds in association with the 'Give India' Foundation. 
• Paytm took up the job to help with oxygen concentrators amid oxygen shortage in the country and set a target to raise Rs 10 crore for the same.
• Zomato, along with Delhivery rolled out the 'Feeding India' program under its 'Help Save My India' initiative to source oxygen concentrators and related supplies to hospitals and families in need. 

Startups whose services or products provided relief or help amid the COVID-19 pandemic situation were also supported in terms of funding by the National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB). 

Indian cities make it to Global Startup Ecosystem List

As per comprehensive rankings of international startup hubs, Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore have found their place among the top startup hubs across the globe. Mumbai has maintained its top spot in the Top 100 Emerging Ecosystems list while Bangalore has ranked 23rd globally. The national capital also made its place in the 36th spot. 

Meanwhile, the government of Karnataka also aspires to make the state a hub for startups in India in order to support innovative indigenous businesses.

India has the world's third-largest AI startup ecosystem

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly transitioning from artificial intelligence into augmented intelligence that ensures efficient, faster, more targeted experiences for everybody. 

According to Microsoft India President Anant Maheshwari, India has the third-largest AI startup ecosystem in the world and its adoption can add more than USD 90 billion to the Indian economy by 2035.

Last month, Tech giant Microsoft had launched a new program 'Microsoft AI Innovate' for nurturing and scaling startups that are leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI). 

Startups, space & technology

About 35 startups have already come up in the space sector, three of them focused on designing rockets, 14 in designing satellites, and the rest in the drone-based applications and services sector. These startups have often approached ISRO with their prototypes for testing and evaluation.

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) Director S Somnath believes that startups will play a bigger role in the production of space systems in industry 4.0 as exploring commercial opportunities for the Indian space sector will be crucial by 2050.

"Production of rockets through Indian industry will be one of the key changes in 2050. Commercialization of Indian launch vehicle and satellite capacity will happen in the Industry 4.0 scenario," he had said.

Meanwhile, some other startups in India are working on self-driving hybrid flying cars. Flying automobiles are often regarded as one of the pinnacles of technological achievement. There are several businesses working on such flying cars, and an Indian company appears to be ahead of them all in the race to introduce Asia's first electric flying car.

Vinata Aeromobility, a Chennai-based firm, is set to unveil its autonomous hybrid flying automobile very soon. The team recently met with Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who praised the start-up's concept and expressed excitement about the possibilities that this hybrid car has to offer.

Noteworthy examples

Indian startup Takachar was among five recipients of the inaugural Earth shot prizes awarded by Queen Elizabeth II's grandson Prince William at a ceremony in London last October

Takachar, a social enterprise founded by Vidyut Mohan, has created a low-cost, small-scale, portable device that attaches to tractors in distant farms. Crop leftovers are converted into marketable bio-products such as fuel and fertilizer by the machine. 

Takachar's technology reduces smoke emissions by up to 98%, helping to improve air quality, which is now reducing the life expectancy of the afflicted population by up to five years. The company believes that its device has the potential to save a billion tonnes of CO2 per year if scaled up which would result in a win for India's farmers and the fight against climate change.