As India looks to become the third largest economy with a $5 trillion GDP by 2027, the country’s startups will make a significant contribution to the milestone, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Startup Mahakumbh event on Wednesday. Wowing to make India among the top three economies globally in his likely third term as the Prime Minister, PM Modi said, “Startups will have a major role to play in India’s jump as the 3rd largest economy.”
“India is the third largest startup ecosystem with 1.25 lakh startups involving 12 lakh youth who are directly linked with them,” PM Modi said.
Recalling the initial reluctance and indifference towards the concept of startup in society, the Prime Minister expressed satisfaction over the growth of the startup ecosystem in the country due to the right policies.
He highlighted the contribution of the Startup India programme, funding sources, incubators and academic institutions for supporting the youth in tier 2 and tier 3 cities in becoming entrepreneurs. “Startup has become a social culture and no one can stop a social culture,” he said.
PM Modi added the startup revolution is being led by small cities and that too in a wide range of sectors including agriculture, textiles, medicine, transport, space, yoga and ayurveda.
He also highlighted that Indian startups are working in more than 50 areas in the space sector, including the launch of the space shuttle.
The Prime Minister also urged startups to be vigilant about filing their patents quickly.
He also noted that the G20 Delhi Declaration last year had recognised startups and MSMEs to be natural engines of growth. “They are key to socio-economic transformation by driving innovation and creating employment,” the declaration had said among measures for global economic growth.
On March 18, the first day of the Startup Mahakumbh event, G20 Sherpa and Former CEO of Niti Aayog Amitabh Kant had urged startups to adhere to a self-regulating ecosystem to bring transparency and ethical behaviour in business, indicating the challenges around regulations and financial management being faced by leading Indian startups such as Byju’s and Paytm.
Kant had noted that Indian startups have recorded a 20x jump in funding, almost 12x growth in the number of investors and an 8x increase in the number of incubators.
