The digital economy has created 88 lakh direct jobs till now which is set to cross the 1-crore mark over the next two years, Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on November 30.
"The trend that we have observed over the last eight years is that India is becoming a technology producer rather than being a mere consumer of technology," the minister said.
"We are the second biggest manufacturer of mobile phones now. The electronics manufacturing sector has created 25-30 lakh direct jobs, IT services have crossed 55 lakh jobs and the startup sector has contributed 8 lakh jobs," he added.
Vaishnaw was speaking at the launch of a government-backed initiative under which 40 startups have been selected to exhibit their products in the US and seek financing from venture capital fund managers there.
The minister exhorted the startup founders in the audience to prepare for any possible line of questioning by the US fund managers.
"You are the first cohort of startups selected for the programme. You have to keep asking yourself what all they might ask about. And it is not only important to have the good things in your pitch, but also the risks," he said.
A senior official said that the government was hoping to see the start-up culture gain ground in Tier 2 and beyond geographies.
To promote more new technology companies in small cities and towns, the ministry of electronics and information technology-backed Software Technology Park of India has created technology labs in different parts of the country that startups can tap.
"The Prime Minister's vision is that unicorns should also be built from the villages of India," said Vaishnaw, referring to companies valued at $1 billion or more.
The funding coming into Indian companies through the private equity, venture capital route slowed a little over 20 percent by value in the first nine months of 2022 as investors cut their exposure amid rising inflation and shrinking liquidity.
Investors, however, made more bets during the period, as by volume, these investments grew more than 7 percent during the same period from a year earlier, according to data by Venture Intelligence.
Moneycontrol reported earlier that PE/VC funds made 1,016 bets worth $36 billion in the January-September 2022 period. The data shows that private market investors made 949 bets worth $45.4 billion in the same period last year.
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