The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the Start-up Mahakumbh at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi . He also took a walkthrough of the exhibition showcased on the occasion.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister highlighted the importance of Start-up Mahakumbh and emphasized the country’s roadmap of working to become a Viksit Bharat by 2047. The Prime Minister highlighted India’s making a mark in the IT and software sector in the last few decades and underlined the emerging trends of innovation and start-up culture. Therefore, the Prime Minister said, the presence of people from the world of start-ups underlines the importance of today’s occasion. Dwelling on the success of start-ups in the country, the Prime Minister drew attention to the genius element that makes them successful. He acknowledged the presence of investors, incubators, academicians, researchers, industry members, and present and future entrepreneurs and said, “This is indeed a Mahakumbh in its truest form creating an unprecedented energy and vibe.” The Prime Minister mentioned experiencing the same vibe when he was visiting the sports and exhibition stalls where people showcased their innovations with great pride. “Any Indian visiting the Start-up Mahakumbh will witness the unicorns and decacorns of the future”, PM Modi said.

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 said that 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. Elaborating on space startups, the Prime Minister said that Indian startups are working in more than 50 areas in the space sector, including the launch of the space shuttle.

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.

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Ajay KR