‘Today, environment protection is $12 trillion business opportunity’

IT growth coupled with a terrific pool of young talent can help Mohali become the next Silicon Valley of India, said entrepreneurs at the startup and entrepreneurial event,TiECON 2020, held at Indian School of Business

You can either sell the truth or sell miracles; good start-ups and businesses sell the truth. This statement from Sanjeev Juneja, co-founder, Divisa Herbal Care, at startup and entrepreneurial event TiECON 2020, was the abiding lesson one took away at the event held at the Indian School of Business (ISB), Mohali, on Saturday.

As the event organised by the Chandigarh chapter of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) unfolded, participants saw Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal interacting with a humanoid, Sophia,on display in the city for the first time. Over 1,200 people registered for the event, with over 50 start-ups exhibiting their products and services.

Parallel sessions with experts and venture capitalists continued through the day.

Earlier in the day, at the inauguration, TiECON chair IS Paul, managing director, Drish Shoes Ltd, said, “Chandigarh and the tricity must grow. Over the next 10 years, environment protection will be a $12 trillion dollar ( ₹ 8.5 crore crore) opportunity that young minds must direct their minds to.”

He added that riding the exponential IT growth coupled with a terrific pool of young talent, Mohali was set to take on the mantle of Silicon Valley of India. He pointed out that manpower in IT industry in the city had increased over 34% in the last two years

Additional chief secretary, investment promotion and industries and commerce, Vini Mahajan, assured proactive state government support to the sector in all its endeavours. Lauding TiE for complementing the efforts of the state government to achieve the ambitious aim of reviving and sustaining the startup culture, Mahajan added that Punjab had initiated many path breaking measures towards this end.

Deputy dean, ISB Mohali, Philip Zerrilo said the institute was grateful for the opportunity and the role it played to be part of the startup ecosystem which was driving India forward. He thanked the audience for being a part of this unfolding revolution vital to the bigger goal of comprehensive societal growth and development.

Director, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), Noida, Rajnish Aggarwal said keeping in mind the progress made by Mohali in the ITES sector the focus now had shifted to facilitate innovation from incubation earlier. The Mohali STPI centre of excellence, Neuron, comes under the jurisdiction of Noida headed by Aggarwal.

The recently set up centre of excellence in collaboration with the Punjab government focuses on data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine language, he added. The centre plans to incubate another 250 new startups every year over the next five years.