Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal introduced a comprehensive new database named Bharat Startup Ecosystem Registry during the pre-launch event of ‘Startup Mahakumbh’ on Tuesday, February 27.
Scheduled from March 18-20, Startup Mahakumbh aims to gather the startup ecosystem’s key players to promote entrepreneurship, technology, and innovation. It also seeks to facilitate idea exchange and encourage entrepreneurship among the youth and students.
Sanjiv, the Joint Secretary at the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), remarked on the occasion, “The Indian startup ecosystem is witnessing robust growth with significant support from various enablers nationwide. To keep up with this growth and comprehensively encapsulate the ecosystem, we are introducing the Bharat Startup Ecosystem Registry.”
This registry will act as a unified platform for startups, investors, incubators, and other pivotal stakeholders within India’s startup landscape.
“The objective is to consolidate and accurately represent data from across the ecosystem, ensuring all stakeholders are part of a cohesive framework that enhances coordination and networking. This initiative marks a critical step towards leveraging the ecosystem’s full potential under a unified banner,” added the Joint Secretary.
During the event, Goyal emphasized the crucial role of startups in shaping ‘new India’ and encouraged their participation in the Mahakumbh. He highlighted the event’s significance as a potential annual platform to showcase the decade’s achievements and the transformation spurred by the ‘Startup India’ initiative.
Goyal also urged the DPIIT to keep supporting startups across various districts with financial and logistical assistance, aiming for representation from at least one startup from each district at the Startup Mahakumbh.
The event saw attendance from notable government and startup ecosystem figures, including Government e-Marketplace CEO Prashant Kumar Singh, SIDBI Deputy Managing Director Sudatta Mandal, and leaders from the startup community such as Zomato’s Deepinder Goyal and Razorpay’s Harshil Mathur.
With over 1,000 startups expected to participate across more than ten thematic tracks, the Startup Mahakumbh will host a significant gathering of investors, incubators, and accelerators from both Indian and international startup ecosystems. Organized by leading industry associations and supported by DPIIT, the event underscores the government’s focus on startups as a key area for fostering entrepreneurship, innovation, and job creation. Recent initiatives like Startup India and the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme have propelled the growth of registered startups in the country, with over 1.17 lakh startups registered by the end of December 2023, including 113 unicorns.
