On the occasion of National Startup Day (January 16), leaders from India’s startup ecosystem shared insights on the sector’s evolution towards purpose-driven innovation, sustainability, and long-term value creation, underscoring how startups are shaping the country’s next phase of growth aligned with the vision of a Viksit Bharat.
Amit Chand, Founder of BYT Capital, noted that as the ecosystem matures, startups are increasingly addressing hard, fundamental problems through meaningful innovation.
He emphasised that startups are now being recognised not only as engines of economic growth but also as contributors to responsible progress, where sustainability and inclusion influence how solutions are designed, scaled, and made relevant to a wider population.
According to him, long-term thinking and durability are emerging as defining characteristics of India’s next phase of innovation.
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National Startup Day Insights on Purpose-Led Growth and Responsible Innovation
Richa Jaggi, Co-Founder and CMO of Awshad, highlighted the rapid evolution of India’s startup ecosystem from a primarily tech-driven space to a purpose-led movement focused on solving real, everyday problems.
She pointed to improved infrastructure, stronger policy support, better access to funding, and a more aware consumer base as key enablers for founders today.
Drawing from Awshad’s experience, she observed a growing consumer shift towards wellness, preventive healthcare, and science-backed alternative solutions such as medical cannabis, reflecting increasing health consciousness among Indian consumers.
She added that sustainability, trust, and long-term impact are likely to define the ecosystem’s future.
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Abhineet Kumar, CEO and Founder of Rocket Health, said the ecosystem has evolved remarkably over the years, with founders across the country building globally relevant companies rooted in Indian realities.
He stressed that as the ecosystem matures, the focus must move beyond short-lived trends to building organisations grounded in strong fundamentals, clear problem-solving, and long-term value creation.
He identified sectors such as healthcare, education, climate, manufacturing, and deep technology as critical areas for building foundational infrastructure.
He also underlined the importance of patient execution, meaningful problem selection, and long-term team alignment in shaping India’s global economic and innovation narrative.
National Startup Day: IIIT Bangalore Innovation Centre Hosts Summit
In line with the spirit of National Startup Day, the IIIT Bangalore Innovation Centre hosted a half-day summit titled “Co-Creating the Future with Startups and Corporates” in Bengaluru, in association with MeitY Startup Hub and Startup India.
The summit brought together corporate leaders, startup founders, mentors, and ecosystem enablers to explore collaboration between startups, corporates, and academia.
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The national startup day event featured a keynote address by Shivani Agarwal, Managing Director – Marketing Transformation at Accenture, and an inaugural address by Shamanth S N, Director – New & Emerging Business at Rakuten India.
A fireside chat on industry-academia-startup collaboration in the deeptech era included Pavan Govindan, CEO and Co-Founder of Trozo, and Guru Mallikarjuna, CTO of Bosch Global Software Technologies, who shared perspectives on collaboration, adoption challenges, and scaling innovation.
A panel discussion on “Startups & Corporates Co-Creating Solutions: Challenges and Opportunities” featured Dr Yogananda Jeppu (Boeing), Sanjay Gopinath (MathWorks), Shashidhar Subramanya (Bühler Group), and Raghav Gupta (Titan Company Ltd.).
The discussion focused on corporate-startup partnerships, deep-tech commercialisation, and building sustainable, high-impact innovation ecosystems.
Marking National Startup Day, the summit and industry perspectives collectively reinforced the growing emphasis on responsible, purpose-driven entrepreneurship and long-term value creation within India’s evolving startup ecosystem.
