India's IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on March 14 held a discussion with over 450 startups and some venture capitalists to understand the impact of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) crisis on Indian startups, and to hear their concerns and suggestions on how the government can help. Chandrasekhar's discussion revolved around understanding why startups are not using the services of Indian banks and what the government can do to address this. “Indian banking system is most stable & robust and you must explore it as part of your organisational framework. While startups have a natural incentive to use banks like SVB, we must figure out a way to use the Indian banking system without changing your business mode." — Rajeev Chandrasekhar A few days before the discussion, Chandrasekhar had tweeted advising affected startups to “trust Indian banking system more." STAY ON TOP OF TECH POLICY: Our daily newsletter with top stories from MediaNama and around the world, delivered to your inbox before 9 AM. Click here to sign up today! Why does this matter: Startups have asked the government for more friendly policies, which, if implemented, could incentivise them to set up shop in India rather than a foreign jurisdiction. Separately, regardless of whether or not the government acts upon all the suggestions made by the startups, it's a welcome move by the government to hold this discussion and hear the concerns that affected startups have. "You should consider that you have real time access to me. We will stay engaged 100 percent and…
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