Jitendra Singh urges youth to avail startup opportunities
1 min read . Updated: 28 Jan 2023, 06:02 PM IST
PremiumSingh said the government job mind-set is proving to be an impediment to the start-up culture, mainly in North India.
New Delhi: Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday said India has a huge potential for startups in every sector and urged youth for change of mindset to avail startup opportunities knocking at their door.
Speaking after inaugurating the “Young Startup Conclave" at Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir organised by CSIR, Ministry of Science and Technology, the minister said, the government job mind-set is proving to be an impediment to the start-up culture, mainly in North India.
Referring to four success stories of youths, who narrated their experiences, including two B-Techs and one mechanical engineer, who quit their jobs for startup ventures, he pointed out that “Purple Revolution" through CSIR became part of the Republic Day Parade Tableaux, thus earned countrywide recognition and popularity.
Singh pointed out that the ‘Purple Revolution’ originating from Jammu & Kashmir offers attractive startup avenues and those who have entered the lavender sector are making a fortune out of it.
“It is important to take note of some of the exemplary instances of many young entrepreneurs who are seen quitting their lucrative jobs in the MNCs to establish their own startups, as these young entrepreneurs are now beginning to realise the possibility of greater fortunes in this," he said.
The minister also underlined that J&K has huge unexplored potential of agri-tech startups as the geography and climatic conditions favour the cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants.
He said the Biotech KISAN hub has rejuvenated over 40 orchards till date in Jammu and Kashmir under rejuvenation of apple orchards, where a very innovative methodology has been used to transform the old orchards. He promised full help by DBT and CSIR for setting up of agritech startups.
The minister exhorted the youth of Jammu and Kashmir not to miss the startup bus, which is playing a crucial role in India’s technological & economic journey to emerge as a frontline nation in the world.
Jitendra Singh said that the Start-Up ecosystem in India has gathered momentum since Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the slogan of startup India and standup India from the ramparts of the Red Fort on 15 August, 2015.
He said, from 350 odd start-ups in 2014, the number swelled to 75,000 in August, 2022 and now stands at over 88,000, spread across 653 districts and generated more than Nine Lakh job opportunities in the country.
The minister said, India is also home to 107 Unicorns and 23 of them emerged in 2022 itself, a sign of India’s rapid upward ride on STI (Science, Technology & Innovation) ladder.
Singh pointed out that a new wave of agri-tech startups has emerged in the country in the last few years and these startups are solving problems related to supply chain management, cooling and refrigeration, seed management and distribution, besides helping farmers to access a wider range of markets.
“In the next 25 years of Amrti-Kal, Jammu & Kashmir and several hill territories as well as the Himalayan States are going to make a significant value edition to build India’s future economy because these are the territories whose resources have remain under-utilised in the past. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi giving a focussed attention to these areas, they are going to play a pivotal role in placing India on the world pedestal by 2047," he said.
