An Indian startup ecosystem of the youth, for the youth, by the youth

Good morning!

If you're a young startup (and a very early stage one at that), you have good reason to cheer! 

At the Prarambh: Startup India International Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of Rs 1,000-crore 'Startup India Seed Fund' to support startups and help budding entrepreneurs pursue innovative ideas.

“We are trying to create a startup ecosystem that is based on the principle -- ‘of the youth, by the youth, for the youth,” emphasised PM Modi.

PM Modi also assumed an overall optimistic tone as he interacted with startups and India Inc at the summit organised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

He lauded startups for powering India’s drive to be self-reliant amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Startups, Modi said, are changing the very “demographic character of business.”

To be precise, Modi believes Indian entrepreneurs have the potential to “change the future.” 

He laid out India’s goal for the next five years for startups, chief among which were to: 

1. enable these homegrown businesses to emerge as global giants and 
2. enable the Indian innovators to lead in the area of futuristic technology

Here are other highlights in today's Daily Capsule:

• The Interview with Faballey and Indya’s Shivani Poddar
• The Turning Point for Kaagaz Scanner
• Startup Spotlight: Shake It
• News and updates and more...

The Interview 

It took Shivani Poddar eight years to build FabAlley, a brand focused on women's fashion, and launched Indya as an ethnic clothing portal in 2016, which now also makes wedding fashion jewellery. But 2020 was a year of uncertainty for Shivani and her team who had to build the brands from scratch. The year has also proven to be a great learning curve as she figured out how to make the brands resilient and build back better.

Here are some key takeaways from the interview:

• COVID-19’s impact on the fashion industry
• Taking apparel to the customers
• Doubling down on online retail
• The emergence of new trends
• Innovating with brick and mortar stores

Startup Spotlight

Foodtech startup Shake It is changing food habits with healthy smoothies

The foodtech industry is taking a turn towards healthy foods as the concerns due to the pandemic have changed eating habits and given rise to health consciousness. With the increasing demand for healthy drinks, Mumbai-based Karishma Kriplani founded foodtech startup Shake It in 2020 to bring smoothies to people's doorstep. Read more.

Editor’s Pick: The Turning Point

How Kaagaz Scanner capitalised on the Chinese app ban after five years of hustle

On June 30, 2020, India announced that it had banned 59 Chinese apps, including CamScanner. This turn of events proved to be critical for serial entrepreneurs Snehanshu Gandhi, Gaurav Shrishrimal, and Tamanjit Bindra who had been working hard for the last five years to build the homegrown document scanning and storage app, Kaagaz Scanner. Read more.

News & Updates

• The government launched the third phase of its flagship skilling scheme Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY 3.0) in a bid to empower the country's youth with employable skills by making over 300 skill courses available to them.

• WhatsApp has decided to delay the rollout of its new policy update to May 15 after massive criticism from users globally, including India, over concerns that data was being shared with its parent company Facebook.

• As the world crossed two million deaths from COVID-19, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres lamented that the deadly impact of the pandemic has worsened due to the absence of a global coordinated effort.

• Dr Reddy's Laboratories said it had received approval from the Drugs Control General of India (DCGI) to conduct Phase 3 clinical trials for the Sputnik V vaccine for COVID-19. 

• Bharat Biotech, which has received a government purchase order for supply of 55 lakh doses of Covaxin, a COVID-19 vaccine, said the company will pay compensation to recipients in case of any serious adverse effects experienced after receiving the antidote.

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

“The outcomes can be different for different people. You can’t control the outcome. But doing what you love helps you get success.”

— Nithin Kamath, Co-founder and CEO, Zerodha

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