New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called on Indian startups to focus on manufacturing, deep technology and global leadership, saying the next decade of Startup India must position the country at the forefront of innovation.
Speaking at Bharat Mandapam on the 10th anniversary of Startup India, he said startups are key to shaping India’s economic and technological future.
The Prime Minister hailed Startup India as a “revolution” that has transformed India into the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, growing from fewer than 500 startups in 2014 to over 2 lakh today, including nearly 125 unicorns.
He emphasised that risk-taking has become mainstream, and startups are increasingly driving employment, innovation, and global competitiveness.
“The government is with you in all your efforts. I have faith in your capabilities. Your courage, confidence and innovation are shaping India’s future,” he said. The last 10 years have proven India’s entrepreneurial capabilities, he said, adding, “Our goal should be to lead the world in the next 10 years in India’s new startup trends and technologies.”
Launched on January 16, 2016, Startup India aims to nurture innovation, promote entrepreneurship, and create a generation of job creators, enabling India to build a robust ecosystem of over 2 lakh startups across sectors and geographies.
Modi said the mission has grown into a revolution and the tally of unicorns jumped from four to 125 during the period.
Outlining a slew of government measures to boost artificial intelligence, Modi said the more a nation leads in AI innovation, the greater is its advantage.
“We need to work on new ideas. Today, many such domains are emerging, which will play an important role in economic security and strategic autonomy in the future. An example of AI is in front of us. The more the nation will be ahead in the AI revolution, the higher the advantage it will have,” Modi said.
He said that IndiaAI mission has onboarded more than 38,000 GPUs to address challenge of high computing cost related to the AI development.
