India is home to world’s largest start-up ecosystem: Jaishankar

Nicosia [Cyprus], December 30 (ANI): External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Friday said that reforms measures taken by the Modi government during the peak of the COVID pandemic have resulted in the highest-ever FDI flows in the country’s history and the creation of the largest start-up ecosystem in the world.

“One year ago, when my Prime Minister addressed the world economic forum. He said that during the corona period the world was focused on interventions like quantitative easing but India was busy paving the way for reforms,” Jaishankar said while addressing a business event in Cyprus.

External Affairs Minister addressed the Business community in the southern coastal city of Limassol. In the presence of his Cypriot counterpart Ioannis Kasoulides and Deputy Shipping Minister Vassilios Demetriades, he spoke about expanding the India-Cyprus bilateral economic relationship.

During his address, minister Jaishankar said that the reforms undertaken during the height of the covid pandemic are starting to bear fruit. “We are receiving the highest-ever FDI flows in our history. Last year, we received USD 81 billion as FDI. We have become home to one of the world’s largest start-up ecosystems. We host close to 100 unicorns now,” he said.

The minister also noted that India’s trade has expanded very substantially. “In 2021-22, for the first time our exports crossed the USD 400 billion level and this year we have set a target of USD 470 billion,” he added.

Jaishankar, who is on a three-day visit to Cyprus, has so far held talks with his Cypriot counterpart Ioannis Kasoulides and the House of Representatives President of Cyprus.

Addressing Cyprus’ business and investment community today, he underlined that the goal is to make India a major manufacturing hub and emerge as a USD 5 trillion economy by 2025. External Affairs Minister also drew attention to the successes of the Productive Linked Incentive (PLI) program which intends to increase production based in India.

“We are doing this not just for our own prospects, obviously, that is important but also because we believe that in the post covid era, the global economy will be looking for more resilient and reliable supply chains,” he added.

Furthermore, the External Affairs Minister said one of the big lessons to have come from the covid experience is that the world has to derisk the global economy with more production options for global consumers.

During his address, Jaishankar also assured that India is 100 per cent committed to tackling the issue of climate change.

“One of the big initiatives we’re currently working on is to advocate a change of lifestyle. We want to use the G20 presidency to advance it. PM Modi feels that it will make a huge difference to the environment,” he added.