Goyal suggests new township for startups as India’s answer to Silicon Valley – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Monday suggested that India could have its own Silicon Valley and proposed a new township dedicated to startups, where an ecosystem could be created for entrepreneurs, incubators and other stakeholders to foster the ideas and implement them.
“We should be aspiring to go beyond. We should be aspiring to have our own Silicon Valley… I know Bengaluru is the Silicon Valley of India.But it’s time now we also started thinking in terms of may be tying up with NICDIC and creating a whole new township dedicated to entrepreneurs, startups, innovators, and disruptors, people will have ideas,” Goyal said at an event to launch of Bharat Startup Knowledge Access Registry (BHASKAR) portal.
The National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) is implementing the National Industrial Corridor programme, helping create infrastructure to develop new industrial cities.
“Can we create a society, or a whole 200 or 100 or 500 acre area…and see whether we can create some such ecosystem where whether it is incubators…whether it’s somebody coming from a very far off place with an idea who does not where and whom to connect with can use land up there ….like once upon a time people used to come to Mumbai,” the minister said.
He also announced the setting up of a non-profit or section company, like Invest India, to bring all initiatives and bodies related to startups under this entity.
“With over 1.4 lakh DPIIT-recognised startups as of August 2024, India has established itself as one of the largest and most vibrant startup ecosystems globally. However, this tremendous growth has also led to the fragmentation of resources and stakeholders. BHASKAR aims to challenge incubators, policymakers, and other key startup ecosystem stakeholders under one roof for ease of accessibility and traceability,” an official statement said.