New Delhi, Jan 10 (IANS): Union Minister of commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal on Monday inaugurated the first Startup India Innovation Week here to bring together the country's key startups, entrepreneurs, investors, incubators, funding entities, banks, policymakers, etc., under one platform to celebrate entrepreneurship and promote innovation.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is organising the first-ever Startup India Innovation Week from January10-16. This virtual week-long innovation celebration aims to commemorate the 75th year of India's Independence 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' and is designed to showcase the spread and depth of entrepreneurship across India.

Goyal said his ministry is now at a position to recognize at least four startups in an hour, and the government has recognised more than 60,000 startups so far. Inspiring the young entrepreneurs, innovators, incubators, funding entities, Goyal said, "We all should take failures as stepping stones to success and should focus on three goals -- strengthening Make-In-India, innovation and mentoring the young talents."

Sharing data about the participation of startups from the Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns, Goyal urged the established startups to come forward to mentor them and help them to flourish their innovative ideas.

Emerging as a global innovation hub, India is now boasting the world's third-largest startup ecosystem. DPIIT has recognised more than 60,000 startups as on date.

Indian startups representing 55 industries, spread across 633 districts with at least one startup from every State and UT of the country have created over six lakh jobs since 2016. 45 per cent of the startups are from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, and 45 per cent of them are represented by women entrepreneurs. Startups have the potential to accelerate India's integration into global value chains and create global impact, said the Ministry of commerce & Industry.