On June 16, 2022, Vivatech 2022 awarded India the title of ‘Country of the Year.’ Vivatech is the largest digital and technology-focused startup conference in Europe. Held in Paris, it was for the first time any country was relegated to such an honorary title. The designation is a global recognition of India’s contribution to the world of technology, innovation and startups. Besides, it marks 75 years of India’s independence and as many years of Indo-France diplomatic relations.
Indian Representatives at Vivatech 2022
Union minister for communication, electronics & IT Ashwini Vaishnaw led the delegation at the event. Besides, the Indian ambassador to France Jawed Ashraf, and over 100 officials, CEOs and digital experts led the Indian Delegation at Vivatech 2022. With government support, as many as 65 startups from India are participating in Vivatech 2022.
Fifteen in India Pavilion and 51 in the digital pavilion will showcase their innovations at the event. Meanwhile, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, four CEOs, and tech leaders will address the main stages across the four-day event.
Indian Innovations Featured at Vivatech 2022
The Indian Pavilion displayed its success in public digital infrastructure, including those for digitization of payments, financial inclusion, health and welfare etc. The event also featured sophisticated products focused on green and clean mobility like e-cars, scooters, and drones. For instance, TCS’s Jaguar Formula E-Car, electric aircraft designed by Bon V Technology, a portable Spandan ECG device built by a startup called Sunfox, and ThinkerBell Labs’-developed the world’s first self-learning device for the visually impaired, Annie will be featured in Vivatech 2022.
What the IT minister has to say
“This is a great honour for India to be recognized as the country of the year for Vivatech 2020. This is due to the contribution of Indian startups to the world. The title bestowed is the recognition of Indian startups. We have embarked on this exciting journey,” said Union Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
“A journey of which if you combine a billion smartphones, bank accounts and billion-plus digital identities, the solutions are coming out of this combination are unique. Nowhere in the world will you find the scale we have in India. Nowhere in the world will you find the energy level we have among the young minds in the country,” he further added.
The Union Minister also emphasized that Indian startups should take learning from France. Commenting on this, he said, One thing that you can you should take away from here (France) is the way of thinking. That way of thinking teaches how to prepare for failures. The French way of thinking is how to prepare for the failure cases. What can fail? What else can fail? If you learn that, then your products will be very robust.”
Speaking on the digital approach by the Indian government, Vaishnaw added, “Today, if you look at many of the government programs, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, many of the government programs are Today born digital. The UPI is a very classic example. The next example which is going to come which can be as big as UPI or maybe even bigger is going to be the health mission.”
What the officials have to add
Maurice Levy, Chairman, Publicis Groupe, said, “India is creating leaders like some people are creating yoghurt. The head of IBM, Microsoft, and Adobe, name it, is an Indian. It shows that you have a system which is quite unique. You have a system of education in the country which is so big. India is not satisfied with an average level, India is producing top-level innovative and digital leaders, and this is the most extraordinary achievement.”
“In very few years, India has created 100 unicorns. Europe has created 26 unicorns’, and we hope that we will soon grow, but what India has achieved is absolutely unique. So it is a great honour to welcome India. It is a great honour to have India as a country of the year. India is surrounded by the great companies of the world, and I am sure that everyone will take the example of what India has earned,” he further added.
“Indian startup ecosystem has been growing very fast. It has been innovating at a rapid pace, and now we have over 100 unicorns which reflects the scale and recognition of Indian ecosystems. Our objective of participating in Vivatech is to showcase that Indian startups are solving global problems and innovating for the world,” said Chintan Vaishnav, Mission Director of Atal Innovation Mission.
For more extensive analysis and Market Intelligence reports, feel free to approach us.
We try our best to fact-check and bring well-researched as well as non-plagiarized content to you. Please let us know
if there are any discrepancies in any of our published stories,
-how we can improve,
-what stories you would like us to cover
–what information you are looking for, in the comments section below or through our contact form! We look forward to your feedback, and thank you for stopping by!
Next Article
