Support kids’ entrepreneurial dreams: Energy minister urges parents

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh energy minister AK Sharma has urged society to move beyond traditional career pressures and support entrepreneurial aspirations of young innovators.Speaking at the two-day national conclave, ‘Savishkar Startup Sangam 2026', which commenced on Saturday at AKTU, Sharma said: "Today's youth are leading global giants like Google, Microsoft, and Adobe, but the question is why we have not built our own Google in India."
"Parents push children to take up govt jobs, IAS, engineering, or medicine. To become a developed nation by 2047, we must support entrepreneurial dreams," said Sharma. India could create its own global technology leaders only when youth were encouraged to experiment and take risks, the minister said.The event brought together innovators, industry leaders, and experts from organizations including Meta, Edubuck, Voxora Labs, Physics Wallah, and IIM-Lucknow Incubation Centre across nine technical sessions.On the first day, featured sessions were held on startup mentoring, women's leadership, AI, and blockchain. Cultural programmes like ‘Bhajan Clubbing' and ‘Open Mike' added vibrancy to the conclave.Special guest, national secretary of ABVP, Abhay Pratap Singh, emphasized the historical significance of entrepreneurship in India."The concept of startups is not new to India. From the first to the 11th century, India contributed over 30% to the global GDP. Our campuses should produce problem solvers, not just degree holders. Identifying societal gaps can be the foundation for startups, and innovation must go beyond business into sustainability," he said.