Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said in order to promote startups, the government was working on reducing the regulatory burden, including making it easier for failing businesses to exit.

He said ethics and corporate governance standards need to be strengthened in the startup ecosystem. "Malpractices including data fraud, tax evasion need to be clipped at an early stage otherwise they will earn a bad name for our startup world, which has by and large been insulated from these problems," Goyal said.

He further urged startups not to go for shortcuts as they come with price tags.

Goyal was speaking at the Global Unicorn Summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry. He urged the industry body to have a GenNext national council for people under 40 years of age to achieve a target of nurturing 1,000 unicorns by 2030.

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The commerce minister emphasised that startups should incorporate and list in India rather than incorporate overseas. He urged venture capitalists to protect IPR, by licensing it but ensuring that India remains its principal beneficiary.

Goyal said Metaverse and digital commerce will unlock new opportunities for users as well as businesses in the coming years while sounding optimistic on prospects of a large Indian market opening up an economy of scale.

Pointing to predictions of an 8-fold growth by 2030 in India's consumer digital economy, he said while Indian companies like Zomato are looking to expand to worldwide operations by making technology affordable, ISRO is looking at promoting startups in the space sector.

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Terming the rise in petroleum imports as an indication of India's growth, Goyal said the electric vehicle ecosystem is benefiting from a rise in fuel prices by creating its own space, rather than just relying on government subsidies.

First Published:Apr 28, 2022 11:42 PM IST