India witnesses emergence of many unicorn start-ups that are reshaping economy, markets: Hardeep Puri

Puri, the minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Housing and Urban Affairs said that India today ranks 3rd globally in terms of the unicorn count and has over 100 unicorns with a combined valuation of USD 347 billion.

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday said that the country with its vibrant entrepreneurial spirit and booming start-up ecosystem, has witnessed emergence of many unicorn start-ups that are reshaping its economy and markets. Puri, the minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Housing and Urban Affairs said that India today ranks 3rd globally in terms of the unicorn count and has over 100 unicorns with a combined valuation of USD 347 billion.

The Minister was speaking at ENRich 2023, the 14th edition of the KPMG's Innovation and Energy Conclave, according to a press statement from the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas. "Under the Start-up India initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had directed the oil and gas PSUs to facilitate and create an innovative ecosystem and promote start-ups," the minister said.

He further said that the PSUs of oil and gas sector have created start-up funds aggregating to Rs 405 crore. "A total of 232 start-ups have been funded by Oil and Gas PSUs with a disbursed value of Rs 208 crore," he added.

The Minister recalled some examples of successful start-ups including bandicoot, a robotic scavenger, developed by genrobotic innovations, who were provided grants, mentor support and specific technical assistance by BPCL under project Ankur, to improve the working conditions of sanitary workers. Puri lauded Vasitars Private Limited-a technology-based company funded by IOCL that provides complete in-situ composite repair solutions to all kind of damage scenarios in transmission pipelines by using patent registered innovation nano filler reinforced polymer composite wrap to repair corroded pipelines.

He said that this project holds the promise of revolutionizing pipeline repair in India. Highlighting the significance of the theme of the KPMG's conclave- 'Growing with Less', the Minister said that the theme perfectly synergizes with Indian ethos of living in harmony with our surrounding ecosystem.

"India's energy demand will continue to provide fuel for future economic growth, as it grows exponentially: India is world's 3rd largest consumer of oil, 3rd largest LPG consumer, 4th largest LNG importer, 4th largest refiner, 4th largest automobile market," the minister said. India will account for 25 per cent of global energy demand growth over the next two decades, he added.

Highlighting the rapid strides made by the country in biofuels, the Minister noted that India is today the 3rd largest producer and user of ethanol, thanks to nearly tripling production in the past five years. Ethanol blending in petrol has increased from 1.5 per cent in 2014 to currently 11.70 per cent, he said.

He added that we have advanced the 20 per cent ethanol blending target to 2025-26, ahead by 5 years and approx 5000 fuel stations are already dispensing E20 fuel. Referring to the prototype of World's 1st BS-6 Stage-II, Electrified Flex fuel vehicle, recently unveiled by India, the Minister said, "The country is encouraging flex-fuel vehicles to drive adoption of biofuels at scale as it traverses on its journey to move towards E20 blend ecosystem."

Talking about the Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA), launched by India along with USA and Brazil, at recently concluded G20 summit to transform the global biofuel landscape, Puri said that this collaborative platform will facilitate knowledge sharing on key aspects such as best practices, technology development and adaption, policy learnings and market development. "The biofuel alliance presents us with $500 billion opportunity as we expedite the uptake of biofuels globally by facilitating technology transfer," he said.

The Minister also spoke about green hydrogen, the Minister said that green hydrogen is another sustainable fuel growth opportunity where India is moving fast. The Green Hydrogen Mission launched by the government aims to produce 5 MMTPA of green hydrogen by 2030.

"Traditional energy sources are essential for meeting base load requirements, while new and innovative energy sources are critical for combating climate change as we continue to strive to ensure energy availability, energy affordability and energy accessibility for our citizens," he said. (ANI)

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