NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

The buzz about India’s fledgling startup ecosystem has not only encouraged the Indian government to create a better business environment for budding entrepreneurs but also generated curiosity among the common masses. To give an example of the same, I would like to share a recent incident.

Travelling in a Mumbai local train, a conversation among five women commuters (all in the age group of 35-50 years) caught my attention. The discussion revolved around the merits and demerits of the government’s recently launched startup policy. This made me realise that the government has taken massive efforts to galvanise India’s current start-up ecosystem through its glittering Startup India event held in January this year. Also, with increased awareness created by the media, Indians are closely watching the developments within this space; be it the escalating number of startups across sectors such as IT, healthcare, retail services or the amount of funds being raised.

Express Healthcare in this article aims to understand the relevance of the startup policy in the healthcare space and the impact it would create.

In a nutshell

PM Narendra Modi, on January 16, 2016, launched the eagerly awaited startup policy. It aims to boost innovation and entrepreneurship in the country and plug the gaps that hinder the growth and development of start-ups. The policy was launched as part of the ‘Start-up India, Stand up India’ campaign – an initiative which led to a first-of its-kind dialogue between India’s start-up community and the government. The event attracted around 40 top CEOs, startup founders and investors from the Silicon Valley as well as star entrepreneurs from India. During this event the Prime Minister, as part of an Action Plan, also announced a slew of measures that are touted to give an impetus to the fast burgeoning startup culture within the country.