Piyush Goyal seeks startup ideas for deep tech push, calls Bharat Innovates 2026 a 'curtain-raiser'

New Delhi, [India] June 16 (ANI): Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal asked the 3,000 shortlisted innovators at Bharat Innovates 2026 to send one-page notes with suggestions to improve India's deep tech ecosystem. Speaking at the valedictory session in Nice, he said the government will use the feedback to shape policy, industry linkages and free trade opportunities for startups.
"Friends startup fund of funds second edition is almost entirely going to be committed to deep tech entrepreneurs and deep tech innovators," Goyal said. He urged participants to reflect on how the Ministry of Commerce and Industry can help take their products to market, forge partnerships in India and abroad, and leverage FTAs, "which we are by which we are opening up the doors of the developed world for all of you."
He added, "Reflect maybe on the flight back and make a note... each one of you please send us a one-pager... that way we will get more result resonance... and it receives attention at my level, at Dharmendra's level, at Ajay's level, at the highest level."
Goyal also framed Bharat Innovates 2026 as just the beginning. "As you rightly said, we should retitle this not as the valedictory but as the curtain-raiser for Bharat Innovates next edition," he said. Calling it a "moment to celebrate" and "a moment to reflect," he said he concluded the maiden edition "with a great sense of optimism, confidence in what we have achieved in three days in Nice."
He quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi: "This is not just a celebration, it is our shared commitment, a commitment to innovate, a commitment to lead and that's what all of you young men and women, all of you founders, all of you innovators are going to help us do in the years to come."
The minister showcased the breadth of India's innovation base, listing AI, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, medtech, healthcare, climate technologies, mobility, agritech, space, defence and the blue economy as "deep tech sectors" on display.
He said the event, launched under the India-France Year of Innovation 2026 by PM Modi and President Emmanuel Macron, is "noteworthy for becoming, I hope, a trendsetter in the future."
Goyal credited Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for pioneering the concept and the National Education Policy 2020 for enabling students to switch disciplines.
Recalling his own struggle to move from science to commerce after Class 10, he said NEP 2020 will ensure "we don't have too many chatters in our country... but a good photographer" instead of a reluctant engineer. He also thanked officials from MEA, Startup India, NID and IITs for making the event successful. (ANI)