Young entrepreneurs with energetic minds in the county should look at investing and innovating in the areas of climate change, millet production, and improving the condition of farmers, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
“You have already touched upon defence production, renewable energy, nuclear, satellites, space technologies, etc. I am asking you to explore some of those less glamorous areas as well,’‘ she said at the Start-up Inclusion Summit held here on Saturday.
Ms. Sitharaman said climate change was a critical issue and start-ups should explore this space and find solutions to deal with environmental issues as it had a direct bearing on farming as well as on the supply chain in the country.
“More and more innovations from the start-up community for dealing with climate and climate change are going to be absolutely precious,” she added. The challenges that emerge out of unpredictable climatic conditions had a bearing on agriculture, urban living, water management, disaster management, construction of houses, industries, and national security, she said.
Ms. Sitharaman further said millets offered a way of healthy eating, especially for the urban population. There were plenty of opportunities for start-ups, including helping farmers realise better prices for their millet produce through value addition.
She said Karnataka was one of the main producers of diverse varieties of millets and the United Nations General Assembly had declared the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
The Finance Minister also said India would be chairing the G20 summit and one of the sessions involving the Finance Ministers and the Central bank governors would be held in February in Bengaluru.
Published - November 26, 2022 10:16 pm IST
