Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Start-up India event, to be held on 16 January, will be attended by some big names in the start-up space, such as Japanese SoftBank's founder Masayoshi Son, taxi-hailing firm Uber's founder Travis Kalanick and collaborative workspace provider WeWork's founder Adam Neumann.
At the event, Modi will announce an action plan to support early-stage companies in the country.
Search giant Google Inc will carry out a session titled "Launchpad Accelerator", where early-stage start-ups can win $50,000 in non-equity investment by making "live pitches" to investors.
Participants can interact with SoftBank president and chief operating officer Nikesh Arora on various issues related to fund-raising. Secretaries of major government departments will also answer queries on how the government will "create an enabling ecosystem for start-ups".
Taking into account the significance of the event in promoting start-up culture in the country, it will be telecast live in all Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) and central universities, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) secretary Amitabh Kant told reporters.
The live telecast will also be available for youth groups in over 350 districts of the country, according to Kant.
Nearly 40 innovators, venture capitalists and angel investors from Silicon Valley, along with 1,500 founders of start-ups, will attend the event.
Currently, India is home to 18,000 start-ups employing 3 lakh people, according to former director of Infosys TV Mohandas Pai. Pai expects the number of start-ups to increase to 1 lakh, creating 35 lakh jobs in the next 10 years.
Modi, on his "Mann Ki Baat" radio programme's telecast on 27 December last year, had announced the government would launch the action plan for "Start-up India, Stand-up India" on 16 January, 2016.
"The action plan shall highlight initiatives and schemes being undertaken by the government to address various aspects relating to developing a conducive start-up ecosystem in the country," Kant added.
The formulation of the action plan is in its final stage, a government official who was a part of the drafting of the policy told Mint.
"We have sent the policy to the Prime Minister's Office. It is likely to be finalised by 10 January," he said, requesting anonymity.
The event will also witness workshops and panel discussions on topics including "Unleashing entrepreneurship and innovation: What do Indian start-ups need to grow and prosper", "Celebrating women: Stories of innovative women entrepreneurs", "How digitisation will change India's future", "Making Indian healthcare leapfrog", "Financial inclusion is within reach" and "Show me the money: How do we capitalize entrepreneurship?"
"The objective is to reinforce commitment of the government towards creating an ecosystem that is conducive for growth of start-ups," a DIPP statement said.
