In next 10 years, India should lead in startup trends and technology: PM Modi

Prime Minister Modi and Union Minister Piyush Goyal attend an event to mark the 10th anniversary of the Startup India initiative in New Delhi on Friday

NEW DELHI: A decade after launching the Startup India Mission, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged Indian startups to focus on manufacturing and technology in the next decade and strive for global leadership. This message is intended to help local companies create more local jobs and be part of the global value chain.He said homegrown startups have performed well in the digital and services sectors. “Now is the time for our startups to focus more on manufacturing. Working on new ideas, solving problems. We need to make new products of the best quality in the world. Our aim should be for India to be a global leader in new startup trends and technologies in the next 10 years,” the Prime Minister said on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Startup India initiative.The message comes at a time when AI and other technologies are being pushed forward, and also at a time when several Chinese companies have managed not only to grow domestically but also to establish a large global presence, ending the dominance of established Western giants.Modi said countries that lead AI innovation will gain a strategic advantage, noting that the IndiaAI mission has onboarded over 38,000 GPUs to reduce high computing costs. He said the government is also promoting indigenous AI developed on Indian servers, in addition to efforts in semiconductors, data centers and green hydrogen.He said sectors such as defense and space technology had been opened up to new players, citing the drone sector as an example where regulatory reforms and trust in innovators had changed the landscape. The Prime Minister expressed confidence in the “courage, confidence and innovation” of entrepreneurs shaping India’s future and assured them of continued support. Modi called Startup India a “revolution” and said it has made the country the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world, growing from less than 500 startups in 2014 to over two million startups today, including nearly 125 unicorns. “I have always valued taking risks. “The work that no one is willing to do and that previous governments have avoided… I take as my responsibility,” Modi said. “If there is a loss, it is mine.” “If there is a win, millions of families in my country will benefit,” he said.Highlighting efforts to boost the startup ecosystem, the Prime Minister said the government has invested Rs 25,000 crore in schemes such as Startup India Seed Fund, Space Seed Fund and NIDHI Seed Support Program to address capital constraints. He added that a research, development and innovation program worth Rs 1 million has been launched to support emerging and advanced sectors.Modi also praised women entrepreneurs, saying that over 45% of startups have a female CEO or partner. “In women-led startup funding, India is the second largest ecosystem in the world.”