Piyush Goyal highlights India's startup growth during Japan visit as count nears to '250000': ‘Great companies aren’t…'
Union Minister Piyush Goyal emphasised India's expanding startup ecosystem, growing from 400-500 startups a decade ago to nearly 250,000 today. He urged a generational focus for successful companies and highlighted ongoing cooperation with Japan in financial services and industries during his visit.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday highlighted India’s growing startup ecosystem during his Japan visit, noting that the number of startups has risen from around 400–500 a decade ago, when Startup India was launched, to nearly 250,000 today, reflecting a significant shift in mindset.
He said successful companies should be built with a generational vision rather than focusing only on quarterly or annual performance.
“I must learn from all the startups how to be brief and crisp. Politicians can do better without long speeches. Japan, known for precision, high quality, discipline and craftsmanship, has taught the world a very profound lesson. Great companies are not built for a quarter performance or an annual performance, they are built for generations,” Goyal said, according to PTI.
Quick answers to key questions
The number of startups in India has increased from around 400–500 a decade ago to nearly 250,000 today, reflecting a significant shift in mindset.
Goyal emphasized that great companies are built for generations, rather than focusing solely on quarterly or annual performance, highlighting a need for sustainable growth.
Goyal aimed to deepen capital flows, strengthen investment ties, and explore long-term partnerships that involve technology and innovation between India and Japan.
India is preparing a framework to ease BIS certification requirements for high-tech companies to support the manufacturing of semiconductors, aiming to attract $50 billion in investments.
GIFT City is envisioned as a gateway for international capital into India, facilitating cross-border investment flows between Japan and India.
He added, "India with the world's third largest startup ecosystem... it's now 10 years since we launched Startup India, thanks to which our Startup numbers have increased dramatically from just about 400-500 10 years ago to nearly 250,000 today... has seen a big change in mindset."
Goyal President and CEO of Toyota Tsusho Corporation and others
Goyal is on the third day of his Japan visit, during which he has met senior executives from major banking and financial institutions to strengthen India-Japan cooperation in financial services, banking, investment, trade, mobility and industrial sectors.
Goyal met Minoru Kimura, Managing Executive Officer and Head of Global Business at Nippon Life Insurance, and discussed expanding cooperation in the insurance and financial services sectors, citing the growing potential of India’s insurance market.
He also held discussions with Yasushi Itagaki, Deputy Chairman of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), and other senior officials on potential collaboration in banking, commercial finance and investment, as per ANI.
The Union Minister also stated he met Yoshihiro Hyakutome, Deputy President Executive Officer at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) Group, to discuss new avenues for strengthening financial ties between India and Japan, including greater investment and cooperation in the banking sector.
He also held a meeting with Toshimitsu Imai, President and CEO of Toyota Tsusho Corporation.
"Discussed how Toyota Tsusho can further deepen its engagement across trade, mobility and industrial sectors, leveraging India's cost competitiveness and strengthening India's role as a global export hub, especially for emerging markets," he added.
Goyal also met Tadashi Maeda, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Managing Director of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), to discuss ways to strengthen the India-Japan economic partnership through greater financial and investment cooperation.
The Minister also invited Japanese businesses and startups to partner with Indian companies, emphasising that deeper economic cooperation between India and Japan could create wider opportunities for shared prosperity. He further called on Japan’s “patient” capital and expertise in precision engineering to collaborate with Indian firms.
About the Author
Garvit Bhirani is a journalist based in Gurugram. He is a Deputy Chief Content Producer at LiveMint, where he covers national and international news stories, focusing on accuracy and compelling storytelling for readers. <br><br> With a total of six years of experience in journalism, he has previously worked with Vaco Binary Semantics for Google, taking on the role of news curation lead, and reported from the field on health, education, and agriculture stories for 101reporters and News9. He has also served as a content editor for entertainment and news media organisations. <br><br> Garvit holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism and mass communication from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and Gurugram University, respectively. During college days, he joined India’s only non-profit student journalism network, where he anchored daily news updates and produced his own weekly show called ‘Data Fix’. <br><br> He was selected for the YES Foundation Media for Social Change Fellowship in Delhi, the Talking Data to the Fourth Pillar residential workshop, and the VOICE Fellowship in Pune. <br><br> He holds certificates in COVID-19-verification reporting, data journalism, food & agriculture, tech policy, media literacy and countering misinformation, and tackling election disinformation courses from Thomson Foundation, IndiaSpend, The Dialogue, US Mission in India, and AFP. <br><br> He can be reached on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/garvit-bhirani">LinkedIn</a> or on <a href="https://x.com/GarvitBhirani">@garvitbhirani</a> on X
Wait for it…
Oops! Looks like you have exceeded the limit to bookmark the image. Remove some to bookmark this image.