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The development of digital public infrastructure (DPI) in India in the last decade has steered the growth of startups in the country, industry leaders said on Saturday.

Addressing FICCI’s annual general meeting and annual convention Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Founder of Info Edge India Ltd, said that research and development in India is currently in a better position than it was a decade ago, which has spurred a cluster of startup IPOs in the Delhi-NCR region.

“While there is no shortage of funding for early-stage startups, support from the government in providing potential client markets in sectors like defence-tech, drones are, however, pertinent since government is the main buyer,” he told the gathering.

Ghazal Alagh, Co-founder of Mamaearth (Honasa Consumer Pvt Ltd), said that the startup ecosystem is evolving in favour of entrepreneurship.

“The rising middle class in India has been a large enabler for consumer facing companies. State-level incubation centres, setup by the government, are a remarkable step to empower students to build their startup,” she said.

According to Rohit Bansal, Co-founder, Titan Capital and Ace Vector Group, measures such as providing a level-playing field between public and private companies in terms of taxation are essential to boost the startup ecosystem in the country.

Neel Mehta, Director and Co-founder, Asteria Aerospace Ltd, said that sectors such as defence, space, AI/ML and biotech, among others, are key beneficiaries of Deep Tech.

“Public awareness with reference to the use of drones has improved significantly in India over the last decade. The deeptech sector had also seen new-age job creation, and building on the right theme and ensuring proper execution can be the key for a startup’s success,” he noted.