कोशिश गोल्ड - मुक्त

India's startup dreams

Business Standard

|

September 08, 2025

...and how to let these dreams flower

- AJIT BALAKRISHNAN

India's startup dreams

I struggle to deal with the number of calls I receive from various state and central government officials inviting me to speak at conferences on startups being organised by them. The ones I attend each typically have a few hundred college students eagerly listening all day to speeches and presentations from entrepreneurs like me, as well as senior government officials.

Reflecting on these meetings, I can't help but wonder why and how startups entered the typical business fashion cycles that we have lived through: The Green Revolution in the 1960s, the era of the public sector as a saviour in the 1970s (Hindustan Machine Tools, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Modern Bread, to name a few), the free markets in the 1990s, foreign direct investment in the early 2000s.

At the risk of contemptuous stares from my economist friends, I can't help but pose a question. Are these business waves akin to ones we have seen in the real fashion world of our women friends: Silk saris giving way to nylon saris, which then gave way to blue jeans and black T-shirts, followed by the salwar-kameez becoming the choice of Indian girls and women from Kanyakumari to the Himalayas.

How do these apparel trends arise, what decides how long each one lasts before fading away? In the fashion industry, adoption by close friends, along with Bollywood actors and models, appears to be a leading explanation.

Business Standard से और कहानियाँ

Business Standard

SC remarks may help strengthen Rera, real estate industry

The Supreme Court’s (SC’s) recent remarks on the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) are expected to impact the real estate sector by shifting the focus from the strength of the law to the seriousness of its enforcement, experts say.

time to read

2 mins

February 16, 2026

Business Standard

Tariff cuts in FTAs likely to cost India ₹1 trillion in FY27

India’s customs duty forgone on account of preferential tariff reductions under free-trade agreements (FTAs) signed so far may cross ₹1 trillion in 2026-27 (FY27), according to the Budget documents.

time to read

2 mins

February 16, 2026

Business Standard

India’s AI moment

Summit can pave the way for accountable Al at scale

time to read

2 mins

February 16, 2026

Business Standard

BPCL unfazed by geopolitics, to buy crude on techno-commercial merit

State-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) will source crude oil purely on ‘techno-commercial’ considerations amid evolving geopolitical dynamics, Chairman and Managing Director Sanjay Khanna told Shubhangi Mathur in an in-person interaction.

time to read

2 mins

February 16, 2026

Business Standard

India entering new industrial era driven by AI: Vaishnaw

As leading global chief executives, heads of state and representatives from more than 100 countries gather for the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi this week, Ashwini Vaishnaw - Union Minister for Electronics & IT, Information & Broadcasting, and Railways-outlines the nation's global ambitions in AI in an email interview with Surajeet Das Gupta. Edited excerpts:

time to read

1 min

February 16, 2026

Business Standard

Despite IT selloff, FPI inflows stay positive in February

EM inflows accelerate as de-dollarisation trade strengthens

time to read

1 mins

February 16, 2026

Business Standard

Mini-sabbatical or adult gap year: Long work breaks on rise

If you daydream about getting a break from work, you might picture two weeks of vacation or a long weekend getaway.

time to read

1 mins

February 16, 2026

Business Standard

AI risk dominates calls as investors dump stocks

In what’s turning out to be a great quarter for corporate earnings growth, company executives and investors alike are focused on something else entirely: the threat from artificial intelligence (AI).

time to read

3 mins

February 16, 2026

Business Standard

Q3FY26 realty earnings pass labour Codes stress test with minimal cracks

India’s top listed real estate developers reported broadly stable to healthy earnings in the third quarter (October-December/Q3) of 2025-26 (FY26), even as the rollout of the new labour Codes led to incremental compliance costs.

time to read

2 mins

February 16, 2026

Business Standard

Business Standard

Om Birla to represent India at Rahman’s PM oath ceremony

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Sunday said Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will represent India at the swearing-in of Bangladesh’s newly elected government ledbyTarique Rahman (pictured) inDhaka onTuesday.

time to read

1 mins

February 16, 2026

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size