NIT Rourkela Event: Startups Will Soon Contribute 5% Of GDP, Says Subhrakant Panda

Rourkela: The startups ecosystem is evolving fast in India and their contribution will account for 5% of the country’s GDP in the next five years. That’s how optimistic Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys Ltd (IMFA) Managing Director Subhrakant Panda is.

“Over the next four to five years, startups are expected to contribute about 5% of India’s GDP, which is very significant,” Panda said during an industry-academia interaction with students of National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela.

Panda, who is also president of FICCI, added that India has a unique positioning in global economy as unlike most countries which are looking for export market for their manufacturing industry, our country offers a huge unified domestic market because of GST.

Sharing his ideas on ‘Future of Work: Technology driven Entrepreneurship’, Panda said that immigration, unified domestic market, sustained economic reform and startup ecosystem are key strengths of Indian economy.

As business is getting more technology oriented, engineering can contribute to creating more and more entrepreneurs in the country, he felt. Appreciating the efforts of institutions like NIT in creating opportunities for entrepreneurs, he suggested more institutions should take similar steps.

The interaction session was organised by NIT Rourkela as part of G20 Jan Bhagidari events.

FICCI Director General Arun Chawla and NIT Rourkela Director Prof. K Umamaheshwar Rao were present on the occasion.