Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH) and Atal Incubation Centre – BIMTECH (AIC-BIMTECH) in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Meity Startup Hub (MSH), on March 28, 2023, organized ‘G20-DIA National Roadshow: Startup Kumbh’ at India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida. It witnessed the presence of 50 investors, 100 start-ups, 20 speakers and 10 pitching sessions.
The G-20-Digital Innovation Alliance (G20-DIA) has been launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to recognise and support innovators that have digital solutions for global impact. G20-DIA regional meets and national roadshow have been organised all over India and Startup Kumbh is one of them. The entire initiative will culminate in August 2023 with a Grand Summit in Bangalore, where 174 selected start-ups and investors will participate.
Speaking at the G20-dia inaugural session were Shri. Yogendra Upadhyaya, Minister of Electronics & Information Technology, Minister of Science & Technology, and Minister of Higher Education, Government of Uttar Pradesh; Dr. Harivansh Chaturvedi, Director BIMTECH; Shri. Jeet Vijay, CEO MeitY Startup Hub, and Shri. Akash Tripathi, Joint Secretary, MeitY.
Dr. Harivansh Chaturvedi, Director BIMTECH, said, “Atal Incubation Centre BIMTECH under the leadership of Prof. Abha Rishi, CEO, AIC BIMTECH has taken the work of guiding start-ups to different parts of India in last four years. It is a matter of prestige that India is holding the G20 Presidency and it is applaudable how the government of India and Uttar Pradesh has related it to build the start-up culture in the country. The summit is rightly called Kumbh because there is no bigger melting pot of culture than Kumbh and the start-ups in this festival also hope to connect in similar way with bigger opportunities. India under NITI Aayog is catching up with the international start-up wave and with G20, it will reach greater heights.”
Speaking on the occasion, Shri. Yogendra Upadhyaya, Minister of Electronics & Information Technology, Minister of Science & Technology, and Minister of Higher Education, Government of Uttar Pradesh said, “UP will achieve $1 trillion economy soon. Considering this, the government is setting up new initiatives to attract more entrepreneurs and start-ups. To offer a better start-up ecosystem and to give UP a new vision, Govt. has stablished 60 incubators and accelerators in 23 districts that will provide start-ups mentoring, networking and more such resources that are very important in their success. There are presently more than 9,000 registered start-ups in UP, this figure is increasing repeatedly, and more aspiring entrepreneurs are taking part in this. UP government, under the leadership of Shri Yogi Adityanath ji has introduced various programmes to make the workforce skilled, especially in Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Blockchain and much more.”
Expressing his views Mr. Jeet Vijay, CEO, MeitY Start-up Hub said, “All kudos to Shri. Narender Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India for launching the start-up culture and Digital Mission India, two primary economy drivers. Digital Mission and Start-up India have made India a giant among the nations when it comes to innovations; 90,000 plus registered innovation start-ups make us the third largest. No country in the world today has anything close to Cowin, a platform where 2 billion vaccinations are recorded, no country has single identity card for a billion people — Aadhar card. No country has such high digital financial transactions, thanks to UPI. No other government can take claim for launching a National Digital health mission to make medicines available to the remotest villages and the poorest people through tele medicine and online consultation. No other country can say that they have something called Gati shakti, a multiple-model connectivity platform to bring roadways, waterways, highways, and airways on one platform. There are many such examples. India has built an ecosystem for digital technologies to include every citizen of this country and empower them.”
Akash Tripathi, Joint Secretary, MeitY said, “G20-DIA alliance is a huge opportunity to showcase our start-ups at the international level, 29 countries will participate in all G20 nations plus 9 member countries. The entire initiative will culminate in August 2023 with a Grand Summit in Bangalore, where 174 selected start-ups and investors will participate. The selected start-ups will receive intensive mentorship from renowned experts, unicorns, and mentors, as well as access to a network of corporates and strategic partners. MeitY has chosen six themes (Agri-tech, Health-tech, Ed-tech, Fin-tech, Secured Digital Infrastructure, and Circular Economy) that are of crucial significance for global communities. Under this, G20 member states and non-member invited countries will curate the startup solutions. The underlying principle of proposed start-up solutions will address the need for inclusive, accessible, affordable, sustainable, and transformative impact.”
Earlier in the morning Dr. Chintan Vaishnav, Director of Atal Innovation Mission at NITI Ayog said, “Atal Incubation Mission has done some exemplary things. Startup20 is the first of its kind official engagement group initiated under the Indian presidency of the G20 2023. It is the highest policy conversation on start-ups.”
Distinguished leaders from various industries participated as eminent speakers in the National Roadshow. Some of them were Dr. Hilda Farkas, Counsellor for Science & Technology at the Embassy of Hungary in New Delhi, Soumen Mondal, Trade Commissioner – Investments, High Commission of Canada in India, Abhishek Tiwari, Director Advisory at KPMG India, Ankur Dhawan, President – Abroad at Upgrad, Rajiv Kumar Gupta, President of PolicyBazaar, Amit Singal – Founding Partner of FluidVentures, Bhavesh K Jatania, Startup Head, IDFC First Bank, Ayush Gupta, Director (HR), GAIL India, Girdhari Lal, Director (Public Policy), E&Y, Rohit Chauhan, GM, Adani Enterprises Limited, Ananthanarayanan S, Director, Intel India and among others. Their participation is a testament to the value and significance of the National Roadshow.
