Describing start-ups as new face of India, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, Ratan Tata, on Thursday sought to garner support for such ventures.
“This area needs all our support,” said Mr. Tata, an active investor himself in start-up space, underscoring the need for the country to come to be known for its entrepreneurial abilities.
The eminent industrialist, speaking at the opening of T-Hub, an incubator for tech start-ups, said when he went around the facility it was like looking at one of the new faces of India. It was time the country focused on developing entrepreneurship whose foundations were based on innovation. The US did so in the 1980s, an approach that gave to the world what eventually became sought after products, he said.
The Telangana government, in partnership with three leading academic institutions, has established T-Hub, a 70,000 sq ft built-up area offering 800 seats for start-ups. Located at the IIIT-Hyderabad, the building called ‘Catalyst’ has entailed an investment of Rs.40 crore.
Stating that “all of us should unleash the Indian tiger,” Mr. Tata expressed the hope that the T-Hub would serve as nucleus for big things in the start-up space.
Later, in an interaction with young entrepreneurs and media, he said there was no sure shot for investing in a start-up. It was largely intuitive and influenced by the commitment, passion and confidence of the promoters.
On where he expected the next big thing to come, Mr. Tata put his finger on healthcare, particularly medical breakthroughs. The focus of any enterprise that wanted to make it big should be on “attention to details”.
Governor of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh E. S. L. Narasimhan, who inaugurated T-Hub, highlighted the need to create awareness of such incubation facility among students in rural areas to help them give shape to their innovative ideas.
