Industry leaders praise India’s tech surge at Hardeep Singh Puri’s ‘Vishesh Sampark Abhiyan’ event

Industry leaders gathered at Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s residence for a ‘Vishesh Sampark Abhiyan’ event, where they discussed the rapid advancements in India’s tech sector and the nation’s future.

The event, held on Monday evening, brought together some of the country’s top IT professionals, innovators, startup leaders, and intellectuals.

Rikant Pitti, co-founder of EaseMy Trip, highlighted the growth of startups in India and said that the hands of the future of the country is in the hands of technology.

“In 2018, there were 450 registered startups. Today, that number has surged to over 1 lakh. The startup ecosystem is expanding rapidly. With the Digital India initiative launched in 2015, internet access has become widespread. Under the BharatNet scheme, over 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats and villages now have internet connectivity. The future of the country is firmly in the hands of technology,” he said while speaking to ANI.

MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar noted the substantial growth in India’s digital economy.

“India’s digital economy has grown by 2.8 times. I am very optimistic that we might become Viksit Bharat before 2047. There is no other country in the world that is rapidly expanding its digital public infrastructure,” he said.

Rakesh Verma, CEO and co-founder of Vervesemi Microelectronics discussed the potential for growth in India’s semiconductor industry and stated how the 24 billion dollar import industry of India will increase to 100 billion dollars.

“I was in the semiconductor field for almost 27 years. Then I thought to quit and do something for India. We thought that it was the right time with the government policies coming in, so we started our own company in 2017. I have around 12 patents, and Pratap (co-founder) has around 30 patents to his credit. Our company has 10 patents,” he said.

“We thought of starting our company with products that can be useful not just in India but abroad as well. This is the right to get into chips and Integrated Circuits (IC), and with the policies coming in, it is more favourable to us. The imports of India are at 24 billion dollars and will increase to 100 billion dollars in the near future. That’s why it is the right time to get into chips as it is more favourable to us,” he said while speaking to ANI.

Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman of the Indian Cellular Association, spoke about the remarkable growth in India’s electronics sector.

“The story of mobile phones, what has happened in India is a very inspiring story. In 2014 we were on ground zero at the time. From there, we have grown about 2100 per cent. We are producing more than four lakh crores worth of phones. The increase is about 21 times,” he said.

“In electronics, we have grown about 400 per cent. Electronics is now 150 million dollars. Electronics was a sector that was completely shunned by the investing world. It was a bad word. Today we have a lot of listed companies. The enthusiasm is red hot. The valuations we are getting are red hot,” he said.

Rajan Anandan, MD of Peak XV Partners, underscored the massive transformation of India’s digital ecosystem.

“Post the reforms of 2014, the number of active mobile phone data users in India has become more than 800 million, which is more than in the US and China combined. So that’s an extraordinary transformation of a digital ecosystem,” he said.

“We have without question the most vibrant in terms of a broad-based innovation ecosystem when it comes to Digital India. But the thing that I am most excited about is De-regulation in specific, strategic sectors,” he added.

Adding to his speech, he said, “The De-regulation and opening of strategic sectors like Space, Defence, etc. have spurred innovation. Because of the ecosystem provided by the government in the last 10 years, India has become the top innovator in cutting-edge sectors like aerospace, space and defence, which was unthinkable in the past!”

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri echoed these sentiments, praising the young professionals present at the event.

Taking to the microblogging site X, Puri said that the young professionals present at the event are the beneficiaries and leaders of Viksit Bharat who are guiding India’s tech prowess through the Amrit Kaal and will take it beyond into an even brighter future.

“Delighted to join my friend and colleague @Rajeev_GoI Ji to welcome some of the country’s top IT Professionals, innovators, startup leaders and intellectuals at an interaction on India’s exemplary advancement in the information technology and digital arena under the visionary leadership of PM @narendramodi Ji at a Vishesh Sampark event at my residence today,” Puri said in his post on X.

“These young professionals are the beneficiaries and leaders of #ViksitBharat who are guiding India’s tech prowess through the #AmritKaal & will take it beyond into an even brighter future,” he said.

“Ten years ago one could not have imagined that young people with no business background could one day be running huge multi-million businesses and providing employment opportunities to lakhs of professionals, or for that matter digital payments even in the remotest parts of the country would be able to accept digital payments,” read the post.