It will be 'decade of entrepreneurs' in India, says Narayana Murthy

Mumbai: Days ahead of the launch of the Centre's campaign on developing the startup ecosystem, Infosys co-founder and venture investor N R Narayana Murthy today said times are conducive to make it the "decade of entrepreneurs" in the country.

"I think all the stars are in place for entrepreneurs and therefore, this is going to be the decade of entrepreneurs," he told reporters on the sidelines of an ICSI event here. He said there is tremendous opportunity in the country and the entrepreneurs have to be enthusiastic.

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Murthy, who runs venture investing firm Catamaran Ventures, said there is a "lot of" venture capital money available and the government is also very enthusiastic about facilitating them. He acknowledged the thrust the government is giving to the area, with the startup India initiative set to be launched on 16 January.

In his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a new campaign, 'Startup India, Stand up India' to promote bank financing for startups and offer incentives to boost entrepreneurship and job creation in the country.

Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha had later said that Modi will announce a slew of announcements at the launch of the campaign. India is ranked fourth, behind the US, UK and China, when it comes to the number of startups.

PTI