JUNE 20239 ndian startups must give pri-ority to good governance and financial management and create new benchmarks not only for India but also for other G20 nations, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant has stressed. Globally, startups have evolved into the catalyst for eco-nomic recovery, reorientation and growth driven by innovation.At the sidelines of a think tank conference organised by Nishith Desai Associates and TiE Mumbai recently, Kant reiterated the impor-tance of developing the corporate governance standards for India Inc to go global and establish norms for other G20 countries."It is important that these start-up founders must adhere to best practices in corporate govern-ance and financial management at the grassroots level and not con-sider these as an afterthought," said Kant. For India to become a trillion-dollar economy, maturing of Indian startups is mandatory, he added.The conference was attended by top venture capital funds and startups/unicorns such as UpGrad, MakeMyTrip, Paytm, Mobikwik, Purplle, Blume Ventures, and Av-endus Capital, along with officials from NITI Aayog and Atal Innova-tion Mission."In recent years, Indian startups and new-age tech businesses are offering their products and servic-es to a global audience. Therefore, every startup founder must pro-mote a culture and high standards of corporate governance and set an example for others to emulate," said Nishith Desai, Founder, Nishith Desai Associates. India is home to one out of 10 unicorns globally, and has the third largest ecosystem for startups globally."The country attracted over $250 billion in private alternative invest-ments over the past 5 years, a vital source of our FDI. However, to con-tinue to attract investment capital, it is important the ecosystem internal-ise that no amount of success com-pensates for governance failures," said Vivek Pandit, senior partner, McKinsey and Company. Several in-stitutional Investors have expressed concerns about the need for better corporate governance in India."Fortunately, Indian startups are changing in response to recent high-profile governance lapses with founders initiating changes includ-ing valuing independence on boards and putting in place new disclosure and whistle-blower policies," Pandit added. INDIAN STARTUPS MUST BOOST CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, SET NORMS FOR G20 NATIONS: AMITABH KANTIIN FOCUS
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