GOYAL ASKS INDUSTRY TO TARGET 75 UNICORNS IN 75 WEEKS TO MARK 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE

NEW DELHI: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has called upon the Indian industry to aim for raising 75 unicorns in the next 75 weeks to mark the 75th anniversary of Independence.

"We have added 43 unicorns in 45 weeks, since the start of 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' on 12th March, 2021. Let us aim for at least 75 unicorns in this 75 week period to the 75th Anniversary of Independence," Goyal said while releasing the NASSCOM Tech Start-up Report 2022 on Friday. Goyal said Startup India started a revolution six years ago and has now become a common household term. Indian Startups are fast becoming the champions of India Inc's growth story, he added.

"India has now become the hallmark of a trailblazer & is leaving its mark on the global startup landscape. Investments received by Indian startups overshadowed prepandemic highs. 2021 will be remembered as the year Indian start-ups delivered on their promise, - fearlessly chasing opportunities across verticals - Edtech, Healthtech & Agritech amongst others," he said.

Goyal lauded Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) industry including the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector for the record services exports during the last year.

"Services Export for Aprdec 2021 reached more than $178 billion despite the COVID-19 pandemic when the travel, hospitality and tourism sectors were significantly down," he said.

He pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared 16th January as the National Startup Day, showing his commitment to take the innovation culture to every nook and corner of the country.

"We all celebrated this innovation spirit through Startup India Innovation Week, during the last week as part of 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav'. PM'S interaction with Startups a week ago has supercharged the courage of our innovators," he said.

The minister expressed hope that the momentum of the Indian Startup ecosystem will continue in the current year and the years to come.

"While 2021 was a year in which we defied all odds, 2022 will be the breakthrough year which will unlock the country's exponential value. 'India at 100' will be renowned as a Startup nation. But as PM Modi said yesterday in his speech - the "Amrit Kaal," the coming 25 years - are the period of utmost hard work, sacrifice and tapasya," he said.

Goyal said the Government has taken several steps to boost the startup ecosystem. The measures include: Removing problems of 'Angel tax', simplification of tax procedure & allowing selfcertification and self-regulation towards which we are moving; reducing burden of over 26,500 compliances and decriminalisation of 770 compliances.

Siemens AG Germany has a 75% equity stake in its Indian subsidiary, Siemens India Ltd which is offering diverse products and service solutions in the power generation and transmission, industrial and digital solution and automation sectors. The company has an exposure to the power, steel, cement, hydrocarbon, automation and digitalisation sectors. Indian investors have always trusted multi-national companies (MNCS) over the years and have been rewarded on their investments with liberal dividend payouts and stock bonuses. The MNCS are a darling to the investing community who pass these company shares from family to family to their children over generations. The

MNCS enjoy a huge edge versus the local companies by providing advanced technology and excellent marketing skills. Since foreign parent companies like Siemens Germany spend lot of money on research and development, it has an edge compared to other indigenous competitors. With huge cash reserves built over the years, MNC’S like Siemens stay clear of aggressive debt funding