YEA: Celebrating Tomorrow’s Stars

Tough times never last, but tough people do. — Robert H. Schuller

Wars are not the best times to talk of a booming economy. Or maybe they are.

But, then, we are not yet in a full-fledged war with Pakistan. Pakistan, through its stated policy of making India bleed through a thousand cuts, has been sponsoring terror from its soil for a long time. We fought three wars with our western neighbour. But the terror attacks, sponsored by Pakistan, in Jammu and Kashmir continue unabated.

In the last two decades, after a failed Gujral doctrine, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee being backstabbed, PM Narendra Modi promises to follow a 360-degree approach in isolating and hurting Pakistan, and naming and shaming it.

After the surgical strikes, and the recent IAF strikes in Balakot to destroy the JeM camps, Modi has launched an all-out diplomatic offensive against Pakistan. The MFN status to Pakistan has been revoked.

Even when temperatures cool, India will have to ensure that it doesn’t lower its guard.

Cynics say that in this charged-up environment, Modi doesn’t have to answer on the jobs crisis or farm distress.

We, however, use this moment to highlight something that is of paramount importance, if India has to keep surging ahead and become a $10-trillion economy.

We talk of the entrepreneurship ecosystem, and through the annual BW Businessworld Young Entrepreneurship Awards (YEA) showcase the ideas that will become tomorrow’s stars and unicorns.
Talking of jobs, they will increasingly come from these entrepreneurs and startups they found, rather than any government schemes.
As it is, PM Modi recently said that under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, “more than 15 crore entrepreneurs have been given loans worth more than 7 lakh crore rupees — something that would lead to creation of many jobs”.

Jobs, innovation, ideas for the future — they define today’s startups.

In BW Businessworld’s annual YEA issue, we celebrate the most enterprising, most innovative and most far-sighted.

Hundreds of entries were initially scanned by the BW Businessworld edit team, followed by a rigorous jury process, which zeroed in the winners. They are across two categories — one, which are less than 3-year-old, and the second, which are older than 3 but younger than 7.

We call this special issue an entrepreneurship special double issue because we also feature in this issue the best startups to work for. This is in association with the Great Place To Work.

This issue of BW Businessworld comes with all other regular features and columns.

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Happy reading!