Industry linkage, private sector involvement imperative for sustainable start-ups: Jitendra Singh

Jammu, Sep 21 (PTI) Union minister Jitendra Singh on Sunday stressed the importance of industry linkages and private sector involvement, saying both are imperative for sustainable start-ups and economic growth of India.

Addressing the Lead Impact Conclave here, Singh, the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, said for its part, the government has created an enabling ecosystem by providing industry linkages for start-ups to boost their ventures and propel the Indian economy.

He said start-ups have emerged as a lucrative and sustainable source of livelihood.

“With 1.70 lakh start-ups, India ranks third in the world. About 60,000 of these start-ups are led by women who have become successful agri entrepreneurs,” he said.

The minister called for collaboration between the industry and academic institutions in areas which are relevant in future.

Pitching for research on futuristic themes which would be relevant in coming years, he said the next revolution would be bio-driven.

“In a paradigm shift, bio products like bio-fuels and genetically modified crops would become a major contributor to the economy and make India self-reliant,” he said, adding the world expects India to take the leadership role in the times to come.

He said the youth will be the leaders of a developed India when the nation completes 100 years of its Independence in 2047.

Singh said it is with this objective that the government unveiled the National Education Policy to equip the youth with right skills and training to make them future ready.

The minister said the purple revolution born in J&K is a shining example of success of agri start-ups run by the youth.

He said Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh have drawn inspiration from this revolution, taking up lavender cultivation on a large scale to offer alternative and sustainable sources of livelihood to the youth and free them from the mindset of government jobs.

The youth engaged in start-ups are earning in lakhs and are creating employment opportunities for others, he said.

The minister said 50 per cent of the start-ups are in tier 2 and 3 cities and towns, such as Surat, Vijayawada and Kanpur.

“The government has brought in schemes like Mudra Yojana, PM SVANidhi Yojana and PM Vishwakarma Yojana to provide financial support to small and medium enterprises, street vendors and transitional artisans to boost their businesses,” Singh said.

He said the government is also promoting khadi products under vocal for local, urging the participants to avail of the benefits of various schemes and programmes for the promotion and development of production, sales and employment in the khadi sector.

Singh called for organising workshops in rural areas to create awareness about these schemes so that maximum people can benefit from them. PTI TAS TAS KVK KVK