Piyush Goyal proposes agile, non-profit to fix issues in start-up ecosystem

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday, proposed the establishment of a non-profit entity (under Section 8 of Companies Act) to serve as an agile, industry-led platform for addressing key issues with the government. This organisation should also encompass Startup India and the National Startup Advisory Council (NSAC), Goyal said at the launch event of digital platform BHASKAR in the capital. 

This Section 8 company could also own technology, help preserve trade secrets and ensure right amount of information is shared with government, he suggested.

Shares in the Section 8 company can be issued to Unicorns and this could be a way to recognise such start-ups’ achievements, he suggested.

• Also read: India’s start-up count expected to surge 2.6x by 2030

“You can through this Section 8 company engage with the government on what else needs to be done”, Goyal said, highlighting that Angel tax got scrapped in the recent budget. 

Goyal also wanted SIDBI to play an active role in the functioning of the proposed non-profit organisation.

“Today Start-up India is housed in Invest India. When Start-up India is such a powerful ecosystem by itself it should have a house of its own. The National Start-up Advisory Council should also come within the fold of the new start-up (Section 8) company”, Goyal said.

What is BHASKAR?

Bharat Start-up Knowledge Access Registry (BHASKAR) is an initiative under the Start-up India programme. 

It is a centralised platform for different stakeholders of the start-up ecosystem including start-ups, investors, government bodies, service providers and mentors to connect, exchange ideas and grow. It will help startup ecosystem players to connect, collaborate, co-operate and compete with each other. 

Goyal also said that Centre is going to make a serious effort to ensure that the Indian start-up ecosystem becomes more visible, more democratic and socialised across the country and later across the world, as BHASKAR would be available for the entire world to see. “It will help us create the brand that start-up India should be now and the world to recognise the inquisitiveness of Indian young men and women who are coming up with ideas”, he said.

Under the Start-up India programme, the Centre already operates multiple portals for start-ups including Start-up India Investor Connect Portal for capital raising, National Mentorship Portal (MAARG) for mentorship and Start-up India Hub for all stakeholders to connect with each other.

Goyal felt that it may be worthwhile to integrate some of these portals into BHASKAR.

• Also read: Number of unicorns in India to rise by a fifth in FY25

India is currently the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world in terms of the number of start-ups. US and China are the leading two Start-up ecosystems in the world.

“We are the third largest start-up ecosystem but our aspirations should not end there. We should be aspiring to go beyond and have our own Silicon Vallies beyond Bengaluru,” said Goyal. 

He also suggested setting up a 200-500 acre township or a society for entrepreneurs, start-ups, and innovators on the lines of Silicon Valley in the US.

Look outward, Go International

Goyal urged the Unicorns (Startups with valuation more than $ 1 billion) to look outward and aspire to become world players in different sectors. 

“Many of our unicorns are ripe to become world players in different sectors. It is not that only in fintech and space we must be looking outward. Every sector has tremendous opportunity”, Goyal said.