India now ranks high in startup ecosystem, global innovation index: Union Minister Jitendra Singh

Hyderabad: Contrary to the popular perception about Indians doing well when they go abroad, the country now ranks high in startup ecosystem, global innovation index, patent filing by resident Indians and others, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a two-day StartUp Conclave jointly organised by CSIR institutes here, he said the country is now in a position where the world has started accepting its talent.

From being one of the 'Fragile Five' (emerging economies that were too dependent on foreign investment to finance growth ambitions in 2013), India is now among the top five economies, he said.

"Our startup (startup ecosystem) is now ranked three. Global innovation index has gone up from 81 to 39. Our patent filing is ranked six. I was just going through the figures. Out of 64,480 patents filed in the recent years, more than 55 per cent are resident Indians," said Singh, Union MoS (Independent Charge) Science and Technology.

Citing the examples of nobel laureate Har Gobind Khorana and others, he said there was a common cynicism earlier that the scientists and others achieved greatness after going abroad.

The young men and women who have filed patents did not leave India even for a day which shows that the country has got the talent, resources and ecosystem, he said.

The Centre has already done much more than what the previous governments did to promote science and technology, he said.

In 2014, the budget of CSIR or DSIR (Department of Scientific and Industiral Research) was only Rs 5,615 crore, but it was Rs 13,416 crore in the budget presented five months ago, he said.

Since everything cannot be left to the government, it has floated National Research Foundation which will have about 75 per cent of resources from non-government sources, he said.

Calling for greater synergy between innovation and industry for a sustainable startup ecosystem, Singh said the time has come for Indian science to break silos and integrate with stakeholders, including industry, investors, and the public.