Bharat Project Rural Entrepreneurship: Goyal Backs Deep-Tech Dreams Across India

Published on April 19, 2025

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has championed the cause of rural entrepreneurship at the launch of ‘The Bharat Project‘ in Mumbai on Friday. The ambitious nationwide initiative by YourStory aims to empower 10 lakh entrepreneurs from Tier 2, Tier 3, and rural India through education, mentorship, storytelling, and access to capital. At the event, Goyal emphasized that innovation can flourish anywhere in India, from metropolitan cities to remote villages, setting the tone for a more inclusive approach to the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The Bharat Project: Empowering Rural Entrepreneurs

The Bharat Project rural entrepreneurship initiative represents one of the most comprehensive efforts to democratize access to startup resources across India’s diverse geography. Designed to reach beyond the traditional startup hubs of metropolitan cities, the project specifically targets potential entrepreneurs in smaller towns and villages who have historically faced barriers to entering the innovation economy.

YourStory, one of India’s leading startup media platforms, has structured the Bharat Project rural entrepreneurship program to provide end-to-end support for aspiring business owners. The initiative will leverage technology to deliver accessible entrepreneurship education and connect rural innovators with the resources they need to succeed.

This inclusive approach aligns with the government’s broader vision of fostering innovation across different sectors and geographies, ensuring that the benefits of India’s startup revolution reach beyond urban centers to transform lives throughout the country.

Goyal’s Vision for Inclusive Innovation

At the Bharat Project rural entrepreneurship launch, Minister Goyal addressed concerns about expectations for deep-tech innovation from smaller cities and villages with a refreshingly pragmatic perspective. “Everybody need not do everything,” he remarked, acknowledging the diverse nature of innovation and the unique strengths different communities bring to the entrepreneurial landscape.

Goyal emphasized that talent exists everywhere in India, citing prominent examples like Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, who rose from humble beginnings in a small village to become one of India’s most celebrated scientists and the 11th President of the country.

This acknowledgment of talent distribution across India’s vast geography marks a significant shift from the metro-centric view of innovation that has dominated much of the startup discourse. The Bharat Project rural entrepreneurship initiative builds on this vision by creating structured pathways for rural innovators to access the knowledge, networks, and capital typically concentrated in major cities.

Discovering Tech Innovation in Unexpected Places

One of the most compelling aspects of Goyal’s address at the Bharat Project rural entrepreneurship launch was his personal anecdote about discovering sophisticated technology ventures in unexpected locations. The minister shared his experience visiting Patan during the Gujarati election campaign:

This encounter challenges common assumptions about where technology entrepreneurship can thrive in India. It highlights that with the right support systems—like those being created through the Bharat Project rural entrepreneurship initiative—innovative businesses can emerge and scale from any corner of the country.

The Bharat Project aims to discover and nurture technology entrepreneurs from rural settings across India, challenging traditional notions of where innovation can thrive. (Image: Representative)

The minister’s surprise at finding a high-tech enterprise in a smaller city reflects broader misconceptions about rural innovation capability—misconceptions that the Bharat Project rural entrepreneurship program seeks to dispel by highlighting success stories from beyond the metropolitan startup hubs.

Government Initiatives Supporting Grassroots Business

During the Bharat Project rural entrepreneurship launch event, Minister Goyal outlined several government programs that complement this initiative by providing financial support to entrepreneurs at various stages of their journey. The Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) has been particularly impactful in enabling small business creation across India.

“More than 50 crores of Mudra loans have had beneficiaries. And 20 lakh crore loans have been given,” Goyal noted, highlighting that entrepreneurs can now receive up to 20 lakhs without collateral. This financial accessibility has been transformative for many first-time business owners in rural and semi-urban areas.

The minister also highlighted the PM Swanidhi Yojana for street vendors, which has helped hawkers establish digital payment systems and build credit histories. “If you go to any hawker today, QR code is also there, you can pay digitally. Their credit history is made. First 10,000, then 50,000, then 1 lakh, their loans also increase, because of which they are out of the clutches of moneylenders.”

These government initiatives create a supportive ecosystem for the Bharat Project rural entrepreneurship program, ensuring that entrepreneurs identified and mentored through the initiative can access the capital needed to build and scale their ventures.

Key Features of The Bharat Project

The Bharat Project rural entrepreneurship initiative encompasses a comprehensive suite of programs designed to address the unique challenges faced by entrepreneurs in Tier 2, Tier 3, and rural areas. YourStory has developed a technology-driven approach that makes entrepreneurial education and support accessible even in areas with limited internet connectivity.

The Bharat Project rural entrepreneurship platform is designed to be inclusive and accessible, recognizing the infrastructure and connectivity challenges that exist in many parts of India. By leveraging familiar and widely available technologies like WhatsApp, the initiative ensures that aspiring entrepreneurs can participate regardless of their location or technical sophistication.

Balancing Deep-Tech Ambitions with Inclusive Growth

The launch of the Bharat Project rural entrepreneurship initiative comes in the context of Goyal’s earlier statements at the Startup Mahakumbh in New Delhi, where he had urged Indian startups to focus more on technological innovation rather than consumer-focused businesses like food delivery and lifestyle products. These comments had sparked debate within India’s startup ecosystem.

At the Mumbai event, the minister appeared to present a more nuanced position, recognizing that innovation takes various forms across different contexts while still encouraging ambitious technological advancement. This balance between aspiration for deep-tech breakthroughs and inclusivity for diverse forms of entrepreneurship creates a framework that can accommodate both cutting-edge innovation and grassroots business development.

Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory, captured this aspirational yet inclusive approach in her response to Goyal: “What you said is to raise our bar. If we are not less than anyone, why should we think less?” This sentiment reflects the core philosophy of the Bharat Project rural entrepreneurship initiative—raising ambitions while removing barriers to participation.

Potential Impact and Future Roadmap

The Bharat Project rural entrepreneurship initiative’s goal of empowering 10 lakh entrepreneurs from Tier 2, Tier 3, and rural India represents a significant scaling of India’s entrepreneurial base. If successful, this could fundamentally transform the country’s startup geography, creating new innovation hubs beyond the established centers in cities like Bangalore, Delhi, and Mumbai.

Beyond the direct economic impact, the initiative addresses several strategic priorities for India’s development:

Minister Goyal’s announcement of the second launch of the Startup Fund specifically designed for deep-tech startups also signals continued government commitment to supporting the broader innovation ecosystem. When combined with initiatives like the Bharat Project rural entrepreneurship program, this creates a multi-layered approach to fostering entrepreneurship across India’s diverse geography and sectors.

The minister’s comments on raising standards for incubators—”Our incubators are doing a fab job, but we want them to do an even better job. That’s why I said, we have to aspire for greatness”—suggest that this push for excellence will extend to the support infrastructure for entrepreneurs as well.

Entrepreneurs, investors, and government officials gather at the launch of The Bharat Project in Mumbai, signaling broad institutional support for rural entrepreneurship initiatives. (Image: Representative)

As the Bharat Project rural entrepreneurship initiative moves from launch to implementation, its comprehensive approach combining education, mentorship, storytelling, competition, and funding opportunities positions it to make a meaningful impact on India’s entrepreneurial landscape. By embracing both technological ambition and inclusive growth, the project represents a significant step toward realizing the vision of innovation emerging from every corner of India.

Published on April 19, 2025 | Updated on April 19, 2025