New Delhi, March 19
Shirish Joshi, the Chief Business Officer for Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), shared insights into the impact of government policies, India's growth trajectory, and the burgeoning entrepreneurial landscape in the country, in an interview with ANI at the 'Startup Mahakumbh' held at Bharat Mandapam.
When askedd about the role of government policies in facilitating business growth, Joshi underscored the current administration's vision of digitizing public goods to enable the development of innovative applications.
"The vision of the current government is to make public goods in digital form so that there can be applications build on the top of that, that make it easy for everyone to access services" Joshi said.
Reflecting on India's growth trajectory, Joshi expressed optimism about the nation's evolving entrepreneurial landscape. He noted a palpable shift in energy, creativity, and enthusiasm among individuals, highlighting a marked difference from previous years.
"If I look at the pulse of the nation, it's in a vastly different place than it was just a few years ago. The energy, the drive, creativity, the enthusiasm and more importantly the drive is dramatically different from a few years ago. People believe a lot can happen" stated Joshi. Joshi cited the nation's economic growth, increased disposable income, heightened awareness, and willingness to pay for services as driving forces behind the surge in entrepreneurial activity.
Joshi said, "I think it is a very exciting time. Partly because where India is at because we have grown as an economy. There is income in people's hand, there is awareness and willingness to pay for services."
"Second there is a lot of infrastructure- physical and digital, that has enabled services to get created and found very quickly and finally is the youthful passion, energy, creativity and share technical power, man power that is available in the country. So confluence of these factors are a lethal combination for growth," he added.
Joshi also highlighted the significant reduction in the cost of doing business, attributing it to advancements in technology and streamlined processes. "The cost of doing business is coming down dramatically. Technological advancements and streamlined processes have made it more affordable and accessible for entrepreneurs to establish and scale their ventures, driving innovation and economic progress" he said.
Startup Mahakumbh is a first-of-its-kind event bringing together the entire startup ecosystem of India including startups, investors, incubators and accelerators, and industry leaders from several sectors.