While delivering the keynote address at “DST StartUp Utsav” at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, he informed that as per the latest data, there are currently 105 unicorns in India, out of which 44 were born in 2021 and 19 in 2022.

Dr. Jitendra Singh also stated, that women’s involvement in extramural R&D has doubled over the past eight years, and India currently ranks third after the United States and China in terms of the number of PhDs given in science and engineering (S&E).

Referring to Prime Minister Modi’s launch of StartUp India from the ramparts of the Red Fort in 2015, Dr. Jitendra Singh stated that India, now in its 75th year of independence is home to as many as 75,000 StartUps.

According to the Minister, Modi’s specific focus on Science, Technology, and Innovation has inspired the creativity of the country’s youth to develop and address problems with fresh ideas.

He also stated that today’s startups in India are not limited to metros or big towns, tier-2 and tier-3 cities account for 49% of all start-ups. There are companies emerging in the fields such as IT, agriculture, aviation, education, energy, health, and space.

Dr. Jitendra Singh stated that India has increased its global ranking on the Global Innovation Index (GII) from 81st in 2015 to 46th in 2021 among 130 economies worldwide. In terms of GII, India ranks second among 34 lower-middle-income economies and first among 10 Central and Southern Asian economies. The Minister also noted that the consistent improvement in the Global Innovation Index ranking is due to the immense knowledge capital, the vibrant start-up ecosystem, and some remarkable work done by public and private research organizations.

According to Dr. S. Chandrasekhar, Secretary, DST, “India has made some unprecedented progress in STI areas in the last 7-8 years, and there has been a significant rise in the country’s overall performance in terms of a number of publications (globally ranked 3rd now from 6th in 2013 based on National Science Foundation database), patents (globally ranked 9th in terms of resident patent filing), and quality of research publications (globally ranked 9th now from 13th in 2013). He also highlighted that the NIDHI program of DST has swiftly processed that much-needed support to start-ups, catalyzing the active support of Business incubators and other business support providers.

Dr. Jitendra Singh congratulated the organizers, Team DST, Champions of Innovation from across the country – Startups, Incubators, Incubator Association ISBA – and wished them a great success for their ongoing efforts to catalyze our great country’s growth story and make the DST Startup Utsav a great success.

Dr Jitendera Singh said the “Prashasan Gaon Ki Aur” campaign will create a national movement for good governance and motivate the stakeholders both in the government as well as outside the government.

A good governance week is being celebrated from December 20-25, 2021 with the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances as the Nodal Department as a part of Azaadi ka Amrut Mahotsav celebrations in the 75th Year of India’s Independence. Through “Prashasan Gaon Ki Aur”- a Nationwide campaign for Redressal of Public Grievances and Improving Service Delivery will be held in all Districts, States, and Union Territories of India. 

Over 700 District Collectors will be participating in “Prashasan Gaon Ki Aur”. The Minister said the objective is to translate the vision of the Prime Minister for Next Generation Administrative Reforms during the Amrit Kaal period across all Districts and Tehsils of India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought a paradigm shift with the “Minimum Government-Maximum Governance” approach wherein which the citizens’ interaction with the functionaries of the Government was sought to be reduced through digitalization, consolidation of Ministries, policymaking functions separated from execution, coordinated implementation monitored at highest levels, well-defined accountability and a proper delegation being ensured.