GUWAHATI, June 7 - Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today called for innovation to add value to the traditional products of the State to capture global markets.
Sonowal made this call while taking part as chief guest at �Udyam Assam � celebrating success, supporting startup dreams�, a celebratory event commemorating the success of Assam Startup�The Nest at Ambari here.
Assam Startup�The Nest under the aegis of the Industry and Commerce department, in the first year of its foundation, has incubated 75 startups. These startups with a turnover of around Rs 11 crore have generated 1,690 direct and over 40,000 indirect employment so far.
�The 21st century is a technology-driven society. With technology dominating everyday life, people�s choices are changing. Therefore, to draw their attention and capturing the world market, there is an urgent need to be innovative. The young entrepreneurs should, therefore, focus on incorporating innovative ideas with traditional products to give added value to them,� the Chief Minister said.
Underlining the uniqueness of traditional textiles, bell metal products, etc. of the State, Sonowal said those products have all the ingredients to draw people�s attention. However, because of changing consumer behaviour, there is a need to be more innovative and IT-enabled services would help give marketing advantages to these products, he added.
Sonowal said initiatives like Startup India, Skill India, Digital India and Make in India launched by the Prime Minister set the ball rolling for a level playing field for Indian entrepreneurs in the global platform. He also observed that those programmes have started to deliver results now with Indian startups making a strong presence in the global market.
The Chief Minister urged the young generation to come up with more innovation to take Assam to the global market in a big way. He appreciated the efforts of the Industry and Commerce department to transform the centre into a front-ranking startup initiative.
Sonowal, on the occasion, handed over cheques of the first instalment of financial grants to 31 startups incubated by the centre under the My Assam Startup ID. He also released the first edition of the coffee table book Assam Trailblazers, which relates to the journey of Assam Startup along with the successful startup stories.
He launched a new initiative named �Udyam - Youth Entrepreneurship programme� for the homecoming migrant workers. State Industry and Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary also spoke on the occasion.
