Startup Mahakumbh: A rite of passage for India's innovator

Startup Mahakumbh, the three-day affair starting on Monday at New Delhi's Bharat Mandapam, is perceived as the moment when India's startup ecosystem steps into the global limelight.

- ARYAMAN GUPTA

"India is now innovating in every sector and for the world. We have crossed the tipping point - already the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world. Our time is now," said Rajan Anandan, managing director of Peak XV.

The event comes at a time of rising optimism, with the widespread perception that 2024 will finally see the end of the so-called funding winter.

In 2023, Indian startup funding fell by 72 per cent to a seven-year low of $7 billion from $25 billion in 2022, according to data from Tracxn, a market intelligence platform.

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi may visit the event. "Now that the election announcement has come, there are formalities... but we are still hopeful that we will be able to get him to this event," Singh said.

"Today, the Indian startup ecosystem is among the leading ones globally. India ranks at 40 in terms of innovation, and our goal is to move up from this. We aim to make Startup Mahakumbh not just a big event but also an annual event, which can further propel the growth of the Indian startup ecosystem," Singh said.