SME Times News Bureau | 26 Mar, 2021
A top government official on Friday said that startups
should have good balance between energy and experience at a fireside chat
titled Leadership series: Wisdom for Startups from Grownups.
Speaking at an online Leadership Series ‘Wisdom
for Startups from Grownups’, Department of Science and Technology
(DST) Secretary Ashutosh Sharma said, "Mentors play a big role, and startups and
incubators should not be shy of gaining knowledge from the experienced persons.
In India, there is no lack of ideas. I have met numerous people who have ideas,
but they are lacking confidence. We need to provide that confidence to them
through adequate support to help them stand on their own feet."
Sharma advocated for ease of doing business,
inclusion, equity, and diversity.
"It is also about learning and working with
diversity. Working together brings the sustainability of knowledge. The startup
movement has to pick up steam and transform along the way into market
opportunities," he added.
He said that the time has come for startups, and
they have to play a big role in the development and progress of country looking
at the future.
He hoped that in the next five years, there would
be huge number of startups as the country moves towards becoming ‘Aatmanirbhar
Bharat’.
He stressed on finding ways to make more and more
women become part startups and incubators movement.
Sharma highlighted the various steps taken by the
government to encourage startups and incubators. “SAATHI
centres set up by DST for MSMEs provide high-end scientific infrastructure, and
access to these have been made very easy and transparent. Eighty percent of
time is kept for these machines for startups at appropriate prices,” Sharma
said.
He also underlined policy changes brought about
for liberalization and democratization of geospatial data and spoke about the
Science Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP) which has been brought into
existence after wide consultations from various sectors.
Several eminent speakers elaborated on various
issues related to the journey, growth, and problems of startups and incubators.
R. Ramnam, Mission Director, Atal
Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, said that India is on the cusp of
becoming one of the countries with the fastest increasing number of startups in
the world, and our focus should be on how we can become a nation of
job-creators and not job-seekers.
"There should be willingness to keep learning.
Leadership quality is same for all organizations, and the essence is to create
a bunch of people who want to follow you," said R. Gopalakrishnan, former
Executive Director, TATA Sons, author and Corporate Advisor.
R Naru Narayanan, Angel Investor & Mentor,
said, “Startups are still at the formation stage and should seek to create
long-lasting organizations”.
"Startups and incubators have come up of age this
has been possible because of the power of technology, innovation, and
collaboration," said Adviser and Head NSTEDB Anita Gupta at
the programme, which was attended by several representatives from the start-up
and innovation ecosystem.