‘In just one year, the number of unicorns has increased by 65 percent’ – 25 quotes on the India business opportunity

Launched in 2014, StoryBites is a weekly feature from YourStory, featuring notable quotable quotes in our articles of this past week (see the previous edition here). Share these 25 gems and insights from the week of June 27–July 3 with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights. See also our special compilation of quotes related to India’s coronavirus responses here.

See also our pick of Top Quotes of 2021 on Entrepreneurship, Investment, Digital Transformation, Storytelling, The India Opportunity, Pandemic Resilience, Failure Recovery, Design, and Art.

The need is there and the [quick commerce] market scope is big enough for two to three of the top players to coexist. - Bharat Birla, Anand Rathi Advisors

The hardware ecosystem is still coming up in India, and is at the stage that mobile apps were in 2008. - Gautam BT, Bytebeam

We are positive about the opportunities in the country and are committed to create a robust gaming ecosystem. - Changhan Kim, Krafton

Today, If India earns Rs 100, out of this amount, Rs 30 is because of the MSME sector. - PM Narendra Modi

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Factory SaaS is a particularly hard sector where tech adoption has traditionally been a challenge. Indian SMBs are also traditionally hard users to monetise through SaaS. - Sajith Pai, Blume Ventures

The next time you think of giving anyone a free shopping voucher or an all-expenses-paid trip, remember Section 194R. No free lunches from today! - Rohan Arinaya and Chaitra Bharadwaj, Merican Consultants

Getting a space qualification is a very critical part of any mission or any product that would be sold in the space industry. - Chaitanya Dora, Dhruva Space

India has always had a rich history in culture, and this has constantly seeped into the fashion industry. - Madhuri Dixit Nene

Art is the first language of the world. It has so much to say about our history and what we see around us, in every possible way. - Dushyant Dangi, Tribal Art India

The internet is the only thing that's becoming fundamental towards making India an equitable society. - Sayantani, Advaita Bodhi Foundation

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Although India has only 1 percent of the world’s vehicles, according to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, it accounts for 13 percent of global fatalities from road accidents. - Ella Gudwin, VisionSpring

Three hydrogen corridors should be developed across the country based on state grand challenges. - NITI Aayog report

It is believed that otter populations in many sections of the Cauvery have already been wiped out, and without any focused interventions, many other populations might be facing the same fate soon. - Rushikesh Chavan, The Habitats Trust

There is a huge gap between marks and knowledge, especially in schools in Tier II and Tier III cities where there are challenges of resources. - Sushil Agrawal, Saarthi Pedagogy

College graduates take about Rs 6-12 lakh in education loans to get degrees. - Bharat Gupta, FunctionUp

An engineering college based in Jaipur or Ranchi could be five times better than one in a metropolitan, Tier I city, but, infamously, these colleges are not equipped or geared to encourage students to pursue entrepreneurship. - Prabhash Nirbhay, Jharkhand Angels

The estimated size of the LGBTQIA population in India varies between 2.5 million to around 10 percent of the population of approximately 130 million people. - Akshay Raje, InterviewBit

We need more companies that can be instrumental in driving the inclusion of LGBTQ+ health covers as part of Group Health Insurance policies. - Kriti Rastogi, Plum

Hyderabad is well placed to become one of the top accelerators for startups in the coming decade. - Vani Kola, Kalaari Capital

We anticipate that about 41 percent of the performing companies and new-age startups will continue hiring in 2022-23 and offer bonuses, perks, and higher salaries to top talent. - Yeshab Giri, Randstad India

The Indian economy is seeing very strong growth right now, from which the venture capital industry, in particular, is benefiting as well. - Carsten Coesfeld, Bertelsmann Investments

We are yet to witness the full potential of thousands of budding startups, especially if they get the requisite support and level playing field during the early stages. - Amit Kumar, ah! Ventures Fund

Honestly, the environment in India is actually robust. There's still a massive market. - Sid Talwar, Lightbox

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With India’s emergence as the third largest startup ecosystem, the country’s innovation ecosystem has only grown stronger. - Nilesh Thakker, Zinnov

The next spurt of employment and value, for that matter, even wealth creation, will happen with startups and there is no second thought about it. - KT Rama Rao, IT Minister, Telangana

The country's startup ecosystem is expanding at an unprecedented rate. In just one year, the number of unicorns has increased by 65 percent. - Anas Rahman Junaid, Hurun India

YourStory has also published the pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups’ as a creative and motivational guide for innovators (downloadable as apps here: Apple, Android).