Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India’s youth are focused on solving real-world problems, as he marked 10 years of the Startup India mission.
Addressing entrepreneurs and innovators at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, he credited young founders for strengthening India’s global image and building a self-reliant economy. He said innovation and enterprise have become defining traits of India’s new generation, adding that startups are now central to economic resilience and national growth.
Highlighting the scale of transformation, the Prime Minister noted that India had fewer than 500 startups a decade ago.
Today, the ecosystem has grown to over 2,00,000 startups, making India the world’s third-largest startup hub.
He also pointed to the sharp rise in unicorns, from just four in 2014 to more than 125 active unicorns now.
According to him, this growth has drawn global attention and reinforced confidence in India’s innovation capacity.
Startups today operate across more than 50 sectors, including deep tech, space technology, drones, quantum computing, agritech, and artificial intelligence and machine learning.
PM Modi said many startups are scaling up into unicorns, while established unicorns are launching initial public offerings and creating large-scale employment. He described the present generation of founders as the future of a confident and emerging India.
Recalling the past, he said innovation once faced limited opportunities.
The Startup India mission, he added, changed that reality by giving young Indians an open sky to pursue their ideas.
The Prime Minister underlined that Startup India has democratised entrepreneurship. He said the programme enabled youth from tier-2 and tier-3 cities, as well as villages, to innovate and grow.
Women, he added, play a major role in the mission. Nearly 45 per cent of recognised startups have at least one woman director or partner, while India now ranks second globally in women-led startup funding ecosystems.
Looking ahead, PM Modi urged startups to focus more on manufacturing and high-quality product development. He also called for leadership in advanced technologies through original ideas, assuring entrepreneurs of continued government support.
Also Read: India’s Startup Ecosystem Is Fostering Inclusive Entrepreneurship, Says PM Modi
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