Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Startup Mahakumbh at the Bharat Mandapam, in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hailed India’s progress with startups in the Startup Mahakhumb event in the capital. “Over the past decades, we have seen how India has made its mark in the IT and software sector,” Mr. Modi said. “Now we are seeing the trend of innovation and startup culture continuously increasing in India.”
“Coming here, any Indian will feel that they are not seeing today’s startup but tomorrow’s unicorns and decacorns,” Mr. Modi said. “Indian start-ups are doing very well in more than 50 sectors in the space. And already our startups have started launching space satellites in such a short time.”
“The youth of the country have chosen the path of becoming job creators rather than job seekers,” he said. “Today, India is the third largest startup ecosystem in the world. Whereas in 2014 there were not even a few hundred startups in the country, today there are about 1.25 lakh registered startups in India. And about 12 lakh youth are directly associated with them. We have over 110 unicorns.”
Digital divide
Mr. Modi said that concerns of a digital divide had faded because technology had been “democratised” with the introduction of technologies like the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). These technologies were attracting international attention from world leaders during the G-20 Summit in New Delhi last year, he said.
On Artificial Intelligence, Mr. Modi said that Indian firms should take the lead. “The problems whose solutions the young innovators of India find will help many countries of the world,” Mr. Modi said. “India was transformed from 11th to 5th economic position and the youth of my country and you have played a big role in this. Now I have given a guarantee to India, and the world, that in my third term, I will make the country the third-largest economy in the world. And I can see that start-ups will play a big role in this jump.”
PM Modi inspects ‘Startup Mahakumbh’ exhibition at Bharat Mandapam
PTI adds:
The startup ecosystem is experimental and moves on to a new one if a particular startup doesn’t launch, he said, contrasting them with the ones in politics.
Mr. Modi exuded confidence of returning to power for a third term in a row and presenting a full Budget for the fiscal year starting April 1, 2024.
Businesses, in normal course, put off big events till the elections are over but the large assembly of startup entrepreneurs and people associated with that ecosystem at the three-day ‘Mahakumbh’, days after general elections were announced, is a sign of things to come, he said.
“You know what is going to happen in the next five years,” he said, referring to continuity in governance under him after the April 19 to June 4 general elections.
Indian startups have filed more than 12,000 patents, he said but added that still there are many who have not grasped the significance of going in for patents.
Mr. Modi exhorted entrepreneurs and innovators to file for patents, given the fast pace at which the world is moving.
Mr. Modi said there was a time when education meant getting a job, and government job meant a person is settled.
“That mindset has changed,” he said, citing the startup revolution sweeping the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Union Minister Piyush Goyal arrives to inaugurate Startup Mahakumbh at the Bharat Mandapam.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
Earlier, innovators with ideas would worry about funding, and it was believed that those with financing could do business.
“The startup (culture) has broken that mindset and psych… this is how revolutions happen… The youth have opted to become job creators more than job seekers,” Mr. Modi said.
Backed by initiatives like Startup India and Standup India, the nation’s youth has proven its mettle, he said.
Mr. Modi said his efforts have always been to unshackle and unleash a sector’s potential, unlike the practices of the past where the government’s approach was to hold back.
“Today, Indian startups are showing good work in frontiers like space. Already, our startups are launching space shuttles in such a short time,” he added.
