Day 1 of Startup Mahakumbh saw insightful sessions and massive innovation showcase

Startup Mahakumbh, a large congregation of Indian startups, wrapped up its Day 1 celebration by showcasing insightful sessions by industry leaders. The inaugural day started with a panel discussion around the role of startups in realising the vision of Viksit Bharat, which was focused on informed deliberations on the critical role of Indian startups.

The panelists were of the view that Startup Mahakumbh could be a launchpad for the Indian startup ecosystem.

The plenary inaugural session was graced by Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa and Former CEO, NITI Aayog, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOC&I), Sanjiv, Joint Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOC&I), Prashant Kumar Singh, CEO, Government e Marketplace (GeM), Arvind Gupta, Head and Co-founder of Digital India Foundation, among others.

Amitabh Kant, as part of his intervention, said that Indian startups are a story of undeniable growth, and job creation is a major part of it.

"But the ambition should be even bigger: becoming the world's leading startup nation," Kant said.

"India's booming startup scene has indirectly created over 10 million jobs and fostered a vibrant gig economy of over 10 million individuals."Throughout the inaugural day, startups, incubators, unicorns, future entrepreneurs, and other key stakeholders attended key note sessions, panel discussions, and fire side chats of industry leaders.

There were sessions around the strategies for fostering creativity and disruption in startups, what does the next decade look like for the ecosystem, how can startups build multi-generational businesses and what are the opportunities for key sectors like Agritech, AI & SaaS, Climate Tech, Gaming and Deep Tech among others. Additionally, enriching sessions were held around how startups can scale their businesses globally.

Over 1,000 start-ups, more than 500 incubators, hundreds of investors, and delegations from over 10 different countries have assembled for the three-day mega startup event 'Startup Mahakumbh'. The organisers said that this event will now be an annual affair.

As many as 23 states have participated in this event and are showcasing their startup ecosystems and policies. A few investors from the popular reality show Shark Tank will be present at the event over these three days.

Startup Mahakumbh is being organised by ASSOCHAM, NASSCOM, Bootstrap Incubation and Advisory Foundation, TiE and Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA), and supported by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

India ranks at 40 in terms of innovation and the goal is to move up from this. India has the third largest startup ecosystem and now it is an endeavour to become the best and this event is that direction.

On Day 1, Peyush Bansal, Co-Founder, CEO, Lenskart, highlighted how consumer loyalty isn't limited to channels, and how business models should be based on solving problems. This insightful panel discussion, in particular, garnered a lot of curiosity from the audience.

Founder and CEO, Zomato, joined for a fireside chat to inspire the audience with his journey and share the valuable lessons he has learned as an entrepreneur.