Prince William lauds Indian innovations and tech: Royal couple's visit update

Mumbai: Impressed with Indian innovations, Duke of Cambridge Prince William today said entrepreneurs have a major role to play as the country is home to a sixth of the world population. “Being here today, it is clear that India is leading the way in so many areas of innovation and technology,” he told an audience comprising entrepreneurs and venture capitalists at a special event here. [caption id=“attachment_2723034” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Kate Middleton and Prince William at a charity cricket match in Mumbai on Sunday. Image by Sachin Gokhale[/caption] “Your ability to innovate is not just a good news for India, but a great news for the world. With one-sixth of the world’s population, young innovators like you must play a major role,” said Prince William, who was accompanied by his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton. The royal couple launched the third edition of the Tech Rocketship Awards, where successful Indian startups are flown to the UK to meet venture capitalists and mentors. At the event, Prince William raced a formula car in a simulator created by the Mahindra Group, tried his hand at ‘preparing’ the South Indian snack dosa, and was also taught to read the braille script by a startup working on literacy for the visually challenged. Mohandas Pai, of the startups think-tank ‘iSpirit’, said the royal couple met at least five Indian startups during the event, held at an upmarket cafe inside what was arguably one of the biggest imports from Britain in pre-independence era — the textile mill. A big cheer greeted Prince William and Kate as they entered the cafe and the hour spent at the venue was full of conversations with Indian businesses, including the startups and also Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra. The royal couple is on a week-long visit to India and Bhutan which kicked-off yesterday afternoon from the financial capital of the country. They paid tributes to the victims of the 26/11 attacks, played cricket with under-privileged children and attended a glittering reception and dinner alongside some of the biggest names in business and Bollywood.