The turning point in India’s growth story is that today, people are not skeptical, but excited, if someone wants to start their own company, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Sunday. Addressing the nation through his programme Mann ki Baat, Modi said Indians were not just dreaming of becoming job seekers, but also job creators, and this would strengthen India’s stature on the global stage.
Friends, a few years back if someone said that he wants to do business or wants to start a new company, then elders of the family would answer, “Why don’t you want to do a job, have a job bhai! There is security in a job, there is salary. The hassle is also less. But, if someone wants to start their own company today, then all people around him are excited and fully supportive. Friends, this is the turning point of India’s growth story, where people are now not only dreaming of becoming job seekers but also job creators. This will further strengthen India’s stature on the global stage,” Modi said.
The PM emphasised that in a country with a large population of youths, three aspects matter, ideas and innovation, the spirit of taking risks and the can-do spirit. “…when these three things combine, phenomenal results are produced, miracles happen,” Modi added.
He said India was, in a way, leading the world of startups globally, pointing out that startups in the country were attracting record investments year after year and have spread into small towns as well. He said till 2015, there used to be hardly nine or ten unicorns (startups with a valuation of over US$ 1 billion) in the country, but in the last 10 months, a unicorn was being raised in India every 10 days.
This is also a big thing because our youth have achieved this success in the midst of the corona pandemic. Today, there are more than 70 unicorns in India,” Modi said.
Modi also spoke to a college student who, through his startup, was working on improving mileage and reducing carbon emissions from vehicles. The student, Mayur Patil, had received a government grant for his work. “Indian youth are also contributing solutions to global problems through startups,” the PM said.
The greatest satisfaction for the government lies not just in formulating policies and implementing them, but rather in seeing how they change lives, Modi explained. He also spoke to two beneficiaries of Ayushman Bharat who availed of heart and knee surgeries through the scheme.