PrintFriendlyWe are happy to host the 2017 Global Entrepreneurship Summit in partnership with the Government of the United States of America.
The Summit is being held in South Asia for the first time.
It brings together leading investors, entrepreneurs, academicians, think-tanks and other stakeholders to propel the global entrepreneurship ecosystem.
This event not only connects the Silicon Valley with Hyderabad but also show-cases the close ties between the United States of America and India.
It underlines our shared commitment towards encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation.
The topics picked for this year’s summit include healthcare and life sciences; digital economy and financial technology; energy and infrastructure; and media and entertainment. These are all important issues, relevant to the well-being and prosperity of mankind.
The theme “Women First, Prosperity for All” makes this edition of GES stand out. In Indian mythology, woman is an incarnation of Shakti – the Goddess of power. We believe women empowerment is vital to our development.
Our history has references to women of remarkable talent and determination.Indian women continue to lead in different walks of life. Our space programmes, including the Mars Orbiter Mission, have had immense contribution from our women scientists. Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams, both of Indian origin, have been part of US space missions.
Three out of four oldest High Courts in India are now headed by women judges. Our sportswomen have done the country proud. This very city of Hyderabad is home to SainaNehwal, PV Sindhu, and Sania Mirza, who have brought laurels to India.
India has been an incubator for innovations and entrepreneurship over the ages.
The digital world we live in today is based on the binary system. The invention of zero, foundation of this binary system happened with Aryabhatta’s work in India.
An entrepreneur uses knowledge and skills to fulfil a motive. Entrepreneurs see opportunity in adversity. They try to meet felt needs by making processes more convenient and comfortable for the end user. They are patient and determined.
Our Start-Up India programme is a comprehensive action plan to foster entrepreneurship and promote innovation. It aims to minimize the regulatory burden and provide support to startups. Over 1200 redundant laws have been scrapped, 87 rules for FDI have been eased in 21 sectors, and several government processes have been taken online.
Our government has taken several steps to improve the business environment. The jump in India’s ranking in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report, from 142 to 100, in three years, is a result of this.
We have improved on indicators like dealing with construction permits, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.
The process is not yet complete. This is an area where we are not satisfied with 100th rank. We would strive towards 50th rank.
We have launched the MUDRA scheme to provide easy finance of upto one million rupees to entrepreneurs. Since its launch in 2015, over 90 million loans worth 4.28 trillion rupees have been sanctioned. Of these, more than 70 million loans have been sanctioned to women entrepreneurs.
India has improved its rank from 54 in 2014 to 35 in 2016 on the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index. This signifies the relative ease and efficiency with which products can be moved into and from a country.
An investment-friendly environment needs to be stable from the macro-economic perspective. We have succeeded in containing the fiscal and current account deficits, and curbing inflation. Our foreign exchange reserves have crossed 400 billion dollars, and we continue to attract large foreign capital flows.
To my young entrepreneur friends from India, I would like to say: each of you has something valuable to contribute towards creating a New India by 2022.
You are vehicles of change and instruments of India’s transformation.
To my entrepreneur friends from across the globe, I would like to say: Come, Make in India, Invest in India – for India, and for the world.
I invite each one of you to become a partner in India’s growth story. And once again assure you of our whole-hearted support.