Indian Startups are Leaders In Low-Cost Innovation

Whoever has ever attended a TiECON event knows what it is like to hear out and meet some of the leaders in entrepreneurship space in the country. Such conferences are a great meeting point to exchange ideas, understand sectors and trends, gauge motivation for ventures, meet investors and supporting business minds.

One of the sessions which stood out on the Day-1 of TiECON Chandigarh was by Arvind Gupta, Head- Digital India Foundation & National Head-IT, Bhartiya Janta Party. He was the third panelist after Richard Rekhy, CEO, KPMG India; Manoj Chugh, President- Enterprise Business, Tech Mahindra; and was supposed to deliver a talk about ‘Entrepreneurship in Times of Change’.

He started off on a very positive note, creating an open house for an interactive speech and talked about the change only Indian minds can bring in the startup landscape of the world. He said, “I believe India as a nation is one of the freshest ecosystems and is on the verge of delivering the best low-cost innovation the globe has seen so far. Till now, the American and Chinese have achieved their results in science and innovation, creating products & services for the richest 1 billion people on the face of the earth. They haven’t thought about providing for the rest 6 billion of the population. Entrepreneurs here should understand the scale and potential of opportunities available out there.”

He added, “We as Indians think we arrived late in the race of technology, but as I see Indians are doing great things especially in startup sectors like Fintech. What’s happening in Fintech in India, nobody can replicate. Today, the private & public sector together has created the lowest cost banks that we have in India. We are doing transaction today in India, bank to bank at 0%. That is what is UPI is doing and where is this innovation happening? In India! To prove this I gave out a challenge to the biggest private sector bank in America, if you can open up a bank account than I can open in India, I shall give you a million dollar. And the challenge is still open! As I can do it in 28 seconds.”

Arvind also talked about how the government is driving the change and helping entrepreneurs create an easy-moving atmosphere for the startup culture in India. He mentioned the ‘Startup India Campaign’ and how since its launch government has become one of the key buyers of the startup offerings. There is no denying of the fact that, our country has the mindset, the money and the market. There are startups who in every state are catering to the Ministry of Railways, IT, Ministry of Finance, Cyber-Security and Defence. We understand that our regulations are behind the times at most of the crucial times, but that’s how people strive to meet those criteria and bring up their game.”

To stress on the point of changing mindset, he said, “People these days don’t look for big brand names, as the market is being disrupted at a faster pace than ever, hence, people allow themselves to work for startups. The scene at campus recruitments is also altering, and I wish you know that Chandigarh is also special as the number of per capita apps that are being developed in the city, is one of the highest in the world. I want the people to know, the cost of innovation in India is 1/30th and that is what is going to change India’s position in the world.”

Further he went on to say, “The best part about the startup ecosystem anywhere in the world is, nobody is going to be the king for long, the big players constantly fear and hope that the small startups do not make anything disruptive, that can snatch their throne from them. The speed of innovation we are experiencing is great; a UPI tomorrow can disrupt Paytm, if you know what I mean. Has anyone used the BHIM app, there is no money involved no transaction fee involved? No, it’s purely bank to bank. I feel if we can constantly think how we can compete with the existing methods, we are innovators. India for me is in the beginning of an innovation curve. Innovation never stops; think again, startups are not a passé! But I assure that the government is one of the biggest consumers of startups, we are also ready to invest in startups, as it’s a part of creating a conducive environment for them. How do you think we sent notices to 18 lakh bank-account holders post demonetization, through data readings of different behavior in transacting money? It’s the biggest example of how technology and innovation will govern our lives, in years to come. ”