Ashwini Vaishnaw: Ashwini Vaishnaw will be the guest of honor at ET Startup Awards

Minister of Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw will be the guest of honor at the 10th edition of The Economic Times Startup Awards on Saturday, October 5.

The minister is no stranger to the event, which over the years has become the country’s most coveted award for entrepreneurial excellence, cited in prospectuses, recruitment advertisements and biographical profiles.

The event in Bengaluru will be attended by eminent founders, investors and decision-makers as ETSA 2024 marks a decade of celebrating India’s best and brightest entrepreneurs and start-ups.

Vaishnaw supports the government’s flagship Make in India program for the electronics and semiconductor sectors. Over the last 10 years, India’s overall electronics production has increased to Rs 9.52 lakh crore from Rs 1.9 lakh crore in fiscal 2015, according to government data.

India has positioned itself in a key position in global artificial intelligence (AI) policymaking, led by its Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), which it chairs, and the country has emphasized its commitment to supporting the responsible development of AI on a global scale.

“The ecosystem is maturing”

Vaishnaw, who has also spearheaded the implementation of India’s data protection law that affects all digital companies, is expected to detail the government’s agenda for the coming months to representatives of the startup world. Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, who headed the jury that selected the winners of the 10th anniversary edition, said the achievements at the ET Startup Awards are proof that the entrepreneurship ecosystem in India is maturing. Companies such as Zomato and Swiggy, enterprise software maker Freshworks, logistics service provider Delhivery, fintech majors such as Zerodha and Razorpay, as well as business-to-business commerce firm OfBusiness have been recognized and honored by the ETSA jury over the past nine editions.