The India Energy Week, which will have its third edition in February, be- gan in 2023 as a novel initiative to lev- erage India's increasing prominence in the global energy landscape throu- gh collaborative dialogue. Startups especially made their presence felt in the first two editions with their inven- tive solutions.
The India Energy Week, which will have its third edition in February, be- gan in 2023 as a novel initiative to lev- erage India's increasing prominence in the global energy landscape throu- gh collaborative dialogue. Startups especially made their presence felt in the first two editions with their inven- tive solutions.
In green hydrogen (GH), some PSUs showcased new electrolyser techno- logies, even as startups have reached out to Gol to demonstrate their mem- brane-less electrolyser tech. Other firms have focused on building carbon cap- ture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies, including direct air cap- ture and enhanced oil recovery meth- ods. Much progress has been made in advanced battery storage solutions, including solid-state batteries, lithi- um-ion improvements and flow bat- teries, which promise better efficien- cy, longevity and reduced costs.
All major oil and gas MNCs have the ir GCCs in India, where Indian engine- ers are conducting cutting-edge desi- gn, engineering, data processing and
decision analytics for major drilling operations, refinery operations and seismic data processing globally. A gra- dual journey of reforms and schemes to promote the entrepreneurial spirit has resulted in a tech boom, India's re- putation as 'IT nation' giving way to that of a 'deeptech hub'.
Gol has launched various initiatives like India Semiconductor Mission and PLI scheme in electronics and battery storage, National Quantum Mission to seed and scale quantum computing research, NIDHI PRAYAS (National Initiative for Developing and Harness- ing Innovations-Promoting and Ac- celerating Young and Aspiring Inno- vators and Startups) programme, and IndiaAI Mission.
TEMPORARY
Establishment of 10,000 Atal Tinker- ing Labs (ATL) since 2016 has fos- tered entrepreneur- ship at the grassroots. Anusandhan Natio- nal Research Foun- dation (ANRF), launched in 2023, has a budget out- lay of 50k cr to initiate research across universiti- es. National Deep Tech Startup Policy lays out a roadmap aimed at spurring innovation in cri- tical domains such as semiconductors,
AI and space tech.
Investors are responding to these nudges. Nasscom's 'Indian DeepTech Startup Landscape Report 2023' states that there were over 3,600 deeptech startups worth $14 bn in 2023. Nearly $350 mn of investments flowed into growth and late-stage deeptech start- ups last year. Since 2019, assets under management (AUM) for India-focused private capital funds have doubled, reaching $124.3 bn in December 2023. VCs are investing deeply in startups in AI, chip design, space, advanced battery technologies, battery recyc- ling, biosciences, green hydrogen, chip design, robotics and genomics. AI is so widespread in India's soft- ware services now that it borders on ubiquity. A recent EY-Nasscom report notes that 99% of Indian B2B SaaS companies have embraced deep- tech innovations, mostly in AI. Considerable resources to initiate deeptech programmes in India are being leveraged, focusing particularly on AI and IoT technologies to future-proof businesses.
Lean hard on R&D
In the last five years, Indian entrepreneurs filed more than 1,400 patents in deeptech. Across startups, the number of patents granted grew 8x, from 4,226 in 2013-14 to 34,134 in 2022-23, while patent applications more than doubled in the same period,
crossing 1 lakh filings last year. India now has the third-largest startup eco- system, with more than 1 lakh startups and nearly 120 unicorns, compared to 442 startups and 4 unicorns in 2016. Reforms such as GST, IBC, asset mo- netisation, labour law reforms and Startup India have brought regulato- ry clarity. By end-2023, Gol had done away with more than 25,000 complian- ces, and repealed more than 1,400 laws. Creditable improvements in global rankings in Logistics Performance Index (38th in 2023 vs 54th in 2014), and WIPO's Global Innovation Index rank- ings (39th in 2023 from 81st in 2014) un- derscore the progress made.
Advantages like our human capital, massive data economy, top-notch digi- tal public infrastructure and the ongo- ing 5G and imminent 6G rollouts will accelerate data-driven innovation. The- se will further deepen our intellectual capital and translate to economic com- plexity, enhancing India's influence internationally.
We need to continue adding to our digital and computing infra to sup- port deeptech R&D, while strength- ening policies and also simplifying processes related to data regulation, IP protection and procurement. In- dian talent in deeptech domains now needs nurturing to hasten the rever- sal of brain drain'.
