Financing Innovation: Key to India's Viksit Bharat Vision - Assocham

New Delhi, Apr 3 (PTI) India's vision for Viksit Bharat fundamentally relies on global competitiveness and innovation, which requires significantly more financing for startups to play a critical role across sectors like agriculture, healthcare, and financial inclusion, according to Assocham's Sanjay Nayar.

Nayar, President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), emphasised the necessity of strategically channelling capital towards building deep tech sustainable solutions, especially in AI and defence.

"Our vision for Viksit Bharat fundamentally relies on the fact that we are going to be globally competitive and innovation-driven. And while we have raised over USD 150 billion in the last decade, I think we need a lot more capital. And towards that, we must make sure that we strategically channel this capital not just towards growth, but towards building fundamentally deep tech sustainable solutions," he said during Startup Mahakumbh 2025.

Nayar highlighted the need to diversify financing mechanisms beyond venture capital, incorporating debt financing, public financing, and state financing options.


He commended SIDBI for catalyzing growth through its Funds of Funds and emphasized the importance of patient capital for investing in fundamental R&D and deep tech sectors like AI, biotech, space tech, and advanced materials, acknowledging the longer time horizons and potential for failure.

Urged the activation of domestic capital pools, Nayar said, "We can get the insurance and the pension funds in India, which is the largest private pool in the country, to allocate even 1-2 per cent of the capital towards startups, and that would unlock vast resources for our ecosystem".

Strategically deploying diverse capital, fostering innovation, and creating an enabling environment are crucial for ensuring startups become bolder and more futuristic, he said.

Scheduled from April 3 to 5, 2025, Startup Mahakumbh will bring together a diverse array of startups, investors, and industry leaders representing over 50 countries.