Govt's immediate steps ensured Indian startups were not adversely impacted by SVB crisis: Vaishnaw

New Delhi: Immediate action by the government to help Indian startups in the aftermath of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse ensured that they were not adversely impacted by the "minor crisis", Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Monday. He also exhorted the entire startup community to think of the Indian banking sector as their trusted partner. Vaishnaw, Minister for IT and Communications, also noted the rapid strides taken by India in areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and quantum computing.

Global developers willing to collaborate with India: Vaishnaw

Speaking at the India Global Forum event, the minister said that "while there was a time when India was only seen as a consumer of technology, today, many global developers like to have Indian start-ups, entrepreneurs, and academicians as their partners, as technology gets developed." "In these two technologies, we would like to use Indian talent for developing solutions for India and for the world," he said.

'India should emerge as a key semiconductor manufacturing destination'

To a question on whether India can produce something equivalent to ChatGPT, the Minister said, "wait for a few weeks there will be a big announcement." The Minister said that it is important for the global economy to have trusted partners like India.

All over the world, there is a sense that India should emerge as a key semiconductor manufacturing destination, Vaishnaw said adding that Government is working "sincerely and diligently" to ensure a vibrant semiconductor ecosystem comes up in the country.

The minister further said that after the SVB collapse, the government swung into action to handhold Indian start-ups that had funds or deposits in the bank. "The entire process was flawlessly executed by collaboration between different arms of government," he said.

'Not a single start-up was adversely affected by the minor crisis'

Not a single start-up was adversely affected by the "minor crisis", the Minister said describing the Indian banking sector as resilient and with a healthy balance sheet. "We have requested all the start-ups, don't think about putting your funds in any bank anywhere, put your funds in India. I will request all the global start-up community also, think of India as your trusted banking sector," he said.

Vaishnaw exhorted global entrepreneurs and innovators across sectors to leverage the Indian edge to develop trusted technology for the country, and for the world. Vaishnaw said that India's 4G/5G stack had shown outstanding results, during testing. "The rollout has started. From coming September, we will be rolling 300 sites a day of this India's own telecom technology stack," he said.

(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)