Indian startups turning unicorns every eight to 10 days: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually launched the Madhya Pradesh Startup Portal on May 13 as part of the MP Startup Conclave held in Indore. The state also announced its new startup policy, which was drafted in a record time of five months, during the event.  

In his address, the Prime Minister said that India had nearly 70,000 recognised startups with one startup turning into a unicorn every eight to 10 days. 

He added that startups in the state could work with the informal sector to bring it up to speed with the formal sector. He gave the example of Indore-based business-to-business retail platform ShopKirana which can work with street vendors to bring them online and agritech company Gramophone which can work with farmers for chemical-free agriculture initiatives in the state. 

In his address during the MP Startup Conclave, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the state was looking at making stamp duty competitive with that of other states. He further added that apart from the state Startup Policy, it was also working on a policy on Electric Vehicles. The state has seen startups emerging in sectors across organic farming, as well as solar power companies, and others in the fields of AI (artificial intelligence), auto, pharma, logistics, and warehousing. 

“Startups in the state have received Rs 700 crore in funding since the first initiative when the state government took over on January 26, 2022. Nearly 43 percent startups have been founded by women,” he added. 

The MP Startup Portal will facilitate single sign-on and API integration with the Startup India Portal for real-time access to the startup profiles. The portal will also facilitate the management of the profile of incubators, investors, mentors, and promotion partners. It will also help in connecting startups to mentors and investors and will organise state innovation challenge. 

As part of the MP Startup Policy and Implementation Scheme 2022, the state government selected six beneficiaries for financial assistance. The Chief Minister also felicitated cloud-based employee monitoring software we360.ai and Physiocare Healthcare Private Limited.