A R DAS / NEW DELHI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that India’s Startup ecosystem was flourishing at an unprecedented pace backed by the innovative spirit of country’s youth power.
Addressing the ‘Startup Mahakumbh’ at Bharat Mandapam on the third day , the Prime Minister said that today, when the country is working on the roadmap for a developed India by 2047, this Startup Mahakumbh is of great importance. He said, in the last decade, India has seen as to how it has made strides in the IT and software sector and now , people are seeing the trend of innovation and start-up culture in India.
Mr Modi mentioned that Startup India initiative has given a platform to innovative ideas and connected them to funding. He added that India’s youth has chosen the path of being job creator rather than job seeker. He said, currently India has more than 1.25 lakh Startups and 110 unicorns. Mr Modi mentioned that India’s Startup revolution is today being led by the youth of small towns of the country. He expressed happiness that today Startups in agriculture, textile, medicine, transport, space and even yoga and Ayurveda have started.
The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction over the growth of the startup ecosystem in the country due to the right policies. He recalled the initial reluctance and indifference towards the concept of startup in society. Innovative ideas found a platform over a period of time under Startup India, he said. He commented on the development of an ecosystem through connecting ideas with funding sources, and incubators in academic institutions which gave facilities to the youth of tier 2 and tier 3 cities. “Startup has become a social culture and no one can stop a social culture”, said.
The Prime Minister commented on the changing mindset about startups. He said that startups have changed the psyche that a lot of money is needed to start a business. He commended the youth of the country for choosing the path of becoming a job creator rather than a job seeker.
“India is the third largest startup ecosystem with 1.25 lakh startups involving 12 lakh youth who are directly linked with them”, he said. The Prime Minister asked the entrepreneurs to be vigilant about filing their patents quickly. GeM portal has provided more than 20,000 crore rupees to businesses and startups. He praised the youth for getting into new areas. The Prime Minister stated that the start-ups launched on the policy platforms are reaching new heights today.
Underlining the impetus provided by Digital India to start-ups, the Prime Minister said that it is a huge inspiration and suggested colleges take it up as a case study. He mentioned UPI becoming a pillar of support for the fin-tech start-ups which lead the development of innovative products and services for the expansion of digital services in the country. He recalled the huge queues of industry and world leaders at a booth that was set up in Bharat Mandapam during the G20 Summit explaining the working of UPI and offering a trial run. This, the Prime Minister said, has strengthened financial inclusion and reduced the rural and urban divide, while also democratizing technology. The Prime Minister expressed delight that more than 45 percent of start-ups in the country are women-led, be it education, agriculture or health.
The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of the culture of innovation for humanity, not just for Viksit Bharat. He mentioned India’s initiative to provide a platform for the global startup under Startup-20 which treats startups as the growth engine. He also talked of India’s upper hand in AI.
The Prime Minister underlined the numerous opportunities being created for both young innovators and global investors with the advent of the AI industry and mentioned the National Quantum Mission, India AI Mission and Semiconductor Mission. Shri Modi recalled discussing AI during his address at the US Senate a while ago and assured that India will continue to be a leader in this sector. “I believe that Indian solutions for global applications will become a helping hand for many nations in the world”, the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister acknowledged the global desire to learn from Indian youth through hackathons etc. Solutions tested in Indian conditions have global acceptance, he said. He mentioned the National Research Foundation and 1 lakh crore fund for research and planning for the needs of the future in the sunrise sector areas.
The Prime Minister asked the startups to give back to society by supporting individuals and institutions to come up in the startup sector. He asked them to visit incubation centers, schools and colleges and share their insights with the students. He narrated his experiences of involving the youth by throwing open the government problem statements for solutions through hackathons. He reported that many good solutions were adopted in the governance and a hackathon culture for finding solutions became established in the government. He asked businesses and MSMEs to follow suit. He asked Mahakumbh to come out with actionable points.
The Prime Minister underlined the contributions of the youth of India in making it the fifth largest economy in the world from the 11th position and also highlighted the role to be played by startups in fulfilling the guarantee to make India the third largest economy in the third term. Concluding the address, the Prime Minister said that interacting with the youngsters fills him with new energy as he conveyed his best wishes for the future.
Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Ministers of State Smt Anupriya Patel, and Shri Som Prakash were present on the occasion among others.