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Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday chaired the first meeting of the National Startup Advisory Council and called upon successful entrepreneurs to share their knowledge, experience and ideas with students and youth.

The council was constituted to advise the government on measures needed to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and startups in the country to drive sustainable economic growth and generate large scale employment opportunities.

The minister stressed on the need to sow the seeds of entrepreneurship at school level to encourage students to innovate, as per an official statement.

He also called upon “successful entrepreneurs to take initiative to share their knowledge, experience, ideas and mentor students and youth”.

In his inaugural address, Goyal said that this council shall act as the guiding light for many budding startup entrepreneurs in India. He said that this is the first time in our nation’s history where such a high-powered team of people from the private sector and the government have come together, so that they take their own policy decisions.

According to him, there are innovative ideas with people in rural India, and Tier II and III towns, waiting to be harnessed.

The council has representations from various stakeholders such as founders of successful startups, veterans who have grown and scaled companies in India, persons capable of representing interest of investors into startups, and representatives from industry associations.

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in January had constituted the Council to drive sustainable economic growth and generate large scale employment opportunities.

Describing the startups as the new champions of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, Goyal said that India has the potential to become world’s largest and most innovative startup ecosystem. He said that the government has and will always be a supportive partner in charting progress of Indian startup ecosystem.

(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)