The next wave of Indian startups could determine India's techade

This is a wave of entrepreneurship that could shape the future of technology in a truly exciting phase of our post-1947 history

- RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR

The last 9 years have seen a decisive transformation of India. The country's political culture, governance, economy, confidence in its culture and heritage and more the list is long-have been transformed. Coming after a decade of the United Progressive Alliance's economic destruction, corruption, cronyism and appeasement, it has put India in the league of the world's top five economies-a far cry from the "fragile five" among which India found itself at the end of the Congress-led coalition's 10 years of power in 2014.

The economy, in particular, has undergone a deep qualitative and quantitative transformation. From one dominated by a few 'groups, it is a rapidly expanding one that is seeing a broad spectrum of value-adders, ranging from legacy industry to startups and micro-entrepreneurs. India's digital economy is a shining example of this rapid growth. It was estimated to be about 4-5% of our GDP in 2014, is over 11% of GDP today and is expected to touch 20% of GDP by 2026. It is growing at 2.5 times GDP and startups are a big part of it.

In 2012, I presented a report in Parliament that divulged around 98% of the Indian banking system's net worth was lent to only nine business families in India, a concentration of capital that crowded out opportunities for young Indians and burdened the sector with non-performing assets. A hostile environment for aspiring entrepreneurs has been transformed. Today, we can proudly say that startups have made India one of the world's most vibrant innovation ecosystems.