AHMEDABAD: Gujarat, long hailed as the land of entrepreneurs, is poised for a new wave of commerce, and aided by technology it will be known for its startups, said Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Union minister of state for skill development and entrepreneurship, and electronics & information technology. He started his two-day tour of the state’s institutions on Monday from Ahmedabad.
Talking to TOI, Chandrasekhar said that in terms of capability and passion, he doesn’t see any difference between the founders of startups in Ahmedabad, Ghaziabad, or Hyderabad. “I visited three universities and incubators during my last visit to Gujarat, and I saw work in areas such as chemicals, materials, renewable energy, Industry 4.0, and traditional to digitized manufacturing. It’s not happening anywhere else,” he said.
“Business is part of Gujarat’s DNA, and with cutting-edge technology, startups are going to be a significant part of Gujarat’s [commerce] landscape in the coming years,” Chandrasekhar said. “Young Gujaratis are driving the change…The next big idea can come from Mehsana, Surat, Gandhinagar or Vadodara which we might not have thought of in terms of design, applications or customization.”
Chandrasekhar gave the example of the Sabarmati Riverfront project as exemplifying the ‘startup approach’, an observation he had tweeted too before his visit to the city. “It’s an example of gutsy governance, multi-year planning, and determined vision — some of the ingredients of a successful startup,” he said. “What was the idea? Taking a decrepit riverbank and beautifying it by setting a goal and planning. The outcome has not just become beautification, but it has also impacted transport. It has had a tremendous economic impact.”
Terming India’s journey in startups a ‘trailer of things to come,’ Chandrasekhar said that over the past six-seven years, there have been reforms in policies and practices to support the startup ecosystem. “The next wave of startups will emerge from fields such as semiconductors, electronics, space and artificial intelligence,” he said.
The MoS said the impact of Covid will be beneficial for Tier II and III cities. “Earlier, all tech giants were concentrated in four cities of India. Today, the number has increased to 10 including Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar,” he said.
