RISE OF THE YOUNG ACHIEVERS

Fortune India's 40 Under 40 Awards show how young entrepreneurs have changed the way India does business.

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THE LAST TWO YEARS have been tough for businesses. As the world went digital, young Indian entrepreneurs came up with a variety of products and services across a diverse set of new industries such as satellite manufacturing, sustainable hospitality, smart tech healthcare, swappable batteries and edtech, among others.

Fortune India celebrated the achievements of India's young entrepreneurs at the 40 Under 40 Awards event at the Ritz-Carlton in Bengaluru.

Addressing Fortune India's 40 Under 40 winners in Bengaluru, Chief Guest Basavaraj Bommai, chief minister of Karnataka, said risk is a strong element of growth and one should be hungry to take risks. Entrepreneurs should cultivate a habit of taking risks and not be afraid of failure, he added.

Highlighting the achievements of Bengaluru in the business ecosystem, Bommai said the Silicon City has 400 R&D centres in the fields of genetics, genomics, aerospace, defence, and more. "No country in the world can boast of 400 R&D centres in one city, not even the U.S. or Europe. The credit goes to young children who are highly talented and technically qualified," he said.

In his special address at Fortune India's 40 Under 40 Awards, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union minister for civil aviation and steel, said that from just a few start-ups, India now had more than 28,000, of which more than 100 are unicorns (start-ups with a valuation of over $1 billion). "These are not coming from the typical metro cities but Tier II and Tier III cities, which tells you the story of India's entrepreneurship capability. But setting up the right ecosystem is important, which has been painstakingly woven in by Prime Minister Narendra Modi," said Scindia.