The private sector can now invest in any sector where there are opportunities, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said here on Monday. This follows their announcement of the 2021 budget that there would be no area reserved for the public sector only.
Presenting the Startup Dhruv Awards at an event organized by StartUps Academy, she said the public sector will have a presence in strategically important and national security-related sectors. But the private sector can also be present here, she emphasized.
Since independence, several priorities and incentives have been set to encourage manufacturing activity, particularly in the country’s core sectors. However, these have been centrally planned and regulated and therefore there is a license quota Raj, she said. Although the industry grew even in such an environment, there were limitations. In 1991, with the balance of payments crisis, the economy opened up. But it was only opened in some sectors. At that time there was a compulsion to open up the economy.
However, to unleash the country’s natural capabilities and strengths, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said a policy shift is needed, she stressed. This decision was announced in the Union Budget 2021 and now all sectors are open to private sector participation. Expecting that only large-scale operations could take place here as well, and since MSMEs are the “really great strength” of the country and the backbone of the economy, MSMEs would be supported, she said.
When young people think of frugal innovations, they want to use technology to improve efficiencies, scale up, and unlock opportunities in the global marketplace. the Prime Minister announced support for start-ups in 2015. Places like Bengaluru and Hyderabad are start-up hubs. Startups in places like Coimbatore should use the web 3.0 world, artificial intelligence and big data to bring efficiency to all sectors. “Start-ups from Coimbatore should take the lead here,” she demanded.
Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu, Chairman and CEO of Lakshmi Machine Works said Tamil Nadu is the country’s manufacturing engine. The defense corridor in the state is an opportunity for traditional industries and start-ups to seize opportunities in the defense sector and expand, he said.
Academy President G. Karthikeyan said India’s startup ecosystem is the third largest in the world. In 2021, 44 startups became unicorns (i.e. they reached a valuation of USD 1 billion or more) in the country.
The StartUps Academy presented “Startup Dhruv” awards in four categories – Superstar Award, Rising Star, She Star and Emerging Star.
