NEW YORK, NY (TIP):Leading startup accelerator GSF India arrived in New York as part of its multi-city World Expedition. This unique cross-border event is targeted at providing entrepreneurs direct access to one of the most vibrant and growing accelerators in India. The expedition that was here April 9, had an interactive talk session on “Technology Entrepreneurship in India and Beyond: A Cross-Border Dialogue”, and is scheduled to tour London, Berlin, Boston, San Francisco and Palo Alto.

The Acting Consul General Dr. Devyani Khobragade welcomed the delegates and spoke about the importance of enhancing the influx of investments in the country. She said, “The FM and the government are concentrating mainly on fiscal prudence and measuring ways to turn around the slump we are facing.We have already brought the fiscal deficit to 5.2 and we have targets to better that number.” She commended the efforts made by GSF in accelerating the many startups. “I was extremely happy to read about the startups and this is precisely what we need. Especially, while providing access to technology-based entrepreneurship. Technology has been the game changer for us. And I would urge investors to look beyond the red-tape bureaucracy that India is accused of fashioning and see that India always survives and thrives,” she added. Rajesh Sawhney, founder of GSF Accelerator, repeated that India has more than meets the eye. “I urge everyone to not give up on India.

The kind of growth that you see in India cannot be measured or compared to other countries. It has been an absorbent of technology of any kind, be it DTH, 4G or any other venture. India’s technological foresight cannot be matched against,” said Mr. Sawhney. He also led a panel discussion with delegates that included Shantanu Surpure, Anish Malhotra, Andrew Montgomery, Samir Bhangara and David Teten. David Teten, a New York based venture capitalist and author described the startup-thriving ecosystem that New York is. “New York is the center of media hubs and that’s always good news for startups. Besides that most other spurts that we have seen in other fields such as fashion and films began and center around New York. So New York does provide that kind of an atmosphere for startups to thrive. So despite our own bureaucracy that we face, New York is still a far more desirable city to base your start up in,” said David.

Founder of Indiagames, Samir Bhangara admitted to the difficulties in starting up ventures in India. “Sure it takes a long time to process everything. The procedure is slow and taxing too. But it’s about how far you want to look ahead. Either stop at the taxing procedures or look beyond and see what you can get once your initial set up is done,” he added. Brij Bhasin, Entrepreneur-in- Residence (Bangalore, India), also clarified the process of setting up ventures in India. “It is a long process.We admit that. The tax models in India are different too. And it can be a long procedure. But then again, after the initial set up, the primary positive of such ventures is that there is not a lot of government interference. Additionally, if you prepare an excellent business model, then you have lesser worries at hand,” said Bhasin.

GSF Accelerator is India’s largest and most successful tech accelerator, founded by Rajesh Sawhney, and backed by 20 iconic Indian Digital Founders and 5 leading funds from across the World. It is a 9-week program designed to foster innovation in India’s fast-growing digital economy