India is on a high growth trajectory and this growth needs to be accelerated while realizing the honourable Prime Minister’s vision of “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikaas”. High growth rates can be achieved and sustained when the private sector’s dynamism and innovative spirit is channelled towards the country’s growth and betterment through collaborative Government to Business Partnerships.

To facilitate this partnership, NITI Aayog organized an interactive session between the prime minister and a group of highly motivated and dynamic young entrepreneurs from the private sector who have demonstrated a passion for transforming India and are emerging as champions of change for the country. On July 25 2017, when I and my co-founder at Z Nation lab, Nilesh received the invitation from Mr Amitabh Kant, CEO of  NITI Aayog we were overwhelmed and excited to be part of this new stepping stone. The conference “Champions of Change” was spread over two days on August 16 and 17, 2017 at Pravasi Bhartiya Kendra, New Delhi.

With Champions of Change, the government has expressed its intention to work together with new entrepreneurs. I believed that it was only entrepreneurs who would change the world, meeting the PM at the event turned this thought around. NITI Aayog has set up the perfect platform to implement the transformation agenda for India. PM Narendra Modi’s government is serious about startups as its Champions of Change and has shown innovation in more than thought.

The conference was focused on the private sector committing on job creation, income enhancement, technology disruption and innovation while seeking government support on ease of doing business, governance and policy. As pre-work to the conference, each participant was asked to prepare a targeted action points that would drive change and deliver growth in one of the six pillars highlighted above. The inputs submitted were analyzed and deliberated upon by NITI Aayog and the synopsis was shared with the participants at the beginning of the conference. This laid the foundation for further discussion during the conference on 16 & 17 August 2017.

The session began on August 16, with opening remarks by CEO of NITI Aayog, Mr Amitabh Kant. This was followed by an interaction with Honorable Finance Minister Mr Arun Jaitley, other ministers and top officials including secretaries from various ministries and departments. The discussions ranged on various issues concerning their respective sectors and challenges facing the country. The day also included breakout sessions for various groups to deep dive further into the synopsis and concluded with an interactive dinner with prime minister  Mr Modi and his ministers.

Next day, the groups chartered their final presentations during the first half and  presented their conclusions to prime minister  Mr Modi and respective ministries. This was followed by a photo session with the PM.

Seen as the first major initiative involving young entrepreneurs, prime minister  Mr Modi encouraged them to devise systems and solutions that will help in improving governance. Stressing that only government and their initiatives will not make a new India, he called out to entrepreneurs and urged them to participate in government initiatives. Prime minister  Mr Modi said he would like Champions of Change event to be an annual feature. He also urged the different groups of entrepreneurs who suggested policy initiatives to attach with the relevant ministries on a permanent basis while stressing that “Change will be powered by each and every citizen of India”.

NITI Aayog and various ministries have started engaging with the entrepreneurs over conference calls and emails to further bring in policy changes and improve ease of doing business.