National Technology Day reiterates India's focus of becoming a startup nation

BANGALORE, INDIA: Today is a very special day for Indian Technology. May 11 in India is celebrated every year since 1999 as the National Technology Day to mark the country's advancements and achievements in technology.

Although it marks the anniversary of 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests and celebrates India's tech achievements, this year’s theme for celebrations of the Technology Day is ‘Technology enablers of Startup India’, which is an acknowledgement of the innovation engine that is powering the growing startup ecosystem of the country.

Let's look at some of the facts and figures about Startup India.

As per Nasscom, India is home to more than 4,200 startups, with three to four startups being born every day, which makes it third largest startup base globally after US and Europe. The biggest sector is e-commerce undoubtedly, with more than one unicorn emerging from this sector only.

Indian start-up ecosystem has risen to the next level, with 100 per cent growth in number of private equity, venture capitalists, angel investors along with 125 per cent growth in funding over 2014.

The total funding in the startups is estimated to be around $5 billion in 2015, with participation from more than 450 active Venture capitalists, PE and Angel investors. Over 110 incubators/accelerators in India are mentoring and hand holding startups.

The Startup India initiative launched by the govt also aims at fostering entrepreneurship and promoting innovation by creating an ecosystem that is conducive for growth of startups.

On the occasion of the National Technology Day today Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to use of technology more in daily lives and said, "Lets further increase the use of technology in our daily lives and use technology to bring a positive difference in our society. Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan!”

President Pranab Mukherjee said, "A bright scenario is emerging for the Indian start-up ecosystem with the presence of favourable factors like availability of funding, platform for consolidation, suitable technology and a burgeoning domestic market. The possibility of 11,000 start-ups by 2020 is real."

However for such an ecosystem to thrive, government efforts are not enough. It requires the contribution and eager participation of stakeholders at various levels. He urged all present to take a pledge to make sustained efforts in this direction on National Technology Day.

These words will surely encourage more startups to experiment with new technologies and use them in designing more innovative products and services, so that they make lives more convenient and easier.