New Delhi, May 13 (FN Bureau) Launching a veiled attack on the erstwhile UPA government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that one decade destroyed the dreams of an entire generation of the country as it was mired with major scams, nepotism and policy paralysis. He was virtually addressing the startup community while launching the Madhya Pradesh Startup Policy during the Madhya Pradesh Startup Conclave being held in Indore. “We have seen that one decade destroyed the dreams of an entire generation of this country as it was lost in major scams, nepotism and policy paralysis,” the PM said while crediting his government for creating a robust startup ecosystem in the country. “In 2014 when our government came to power, the country had 300 to 400 Startups. Today, in a small period of eight years, India has about 70,000 recognised startups.
The startups are not just limited to one or two cities or a few states, they are spread across the country,” he said adding that India’s startup ecosystem is diverse. He said that India’s youth did have the ideas and interest for innovation but everything got entangled in absence of a policy by previous governments. “Unfortunately, our youth did not get the required kind of promotion and support during the times of IT revolution. The need was to channelise the atmosphere created by the IT revolution. But that didn’t happen,” he said. The Prime Minister claimed that the present government worked holistically to create a startup ecosystem in the country. “After 2014, we revived the spirit of innovation among our youths. We created a roadmap for ideas to innovation… to industry, and focused on Idea, Innovate, Incubate and Industry,” he said. He said that the government created infrastructure of the institutions associated with the startups and focused on simplification of government processes. We also focused on changing the mindset for innovation, the PM said.
He said that startups provide easy solutions to difficult challenges. “I am happy that new startups are emerging in health, agriculture, retail business sectors. We are witnessing that yesterday’s startups are transforming into tomorrow’s multinationals. Every Hindustani feels pride, when the world appreciates our startups,” he said. Modi also launched the Madhya Pradesh Startup portal aimed at promoting the startup ecosystem in the state. The Madhya Pradesh Startup Conclave will witness participation of various pillars of the startup ecosystem including policy makers from government and private sector, innovators, entrepreneurs, academicians, investors, mentors and other stakeholders. It will witness a variety of sessions including speed mentoring session, where startups will have dialogue with leaders of educational institutions and startup space. There will also be sessions on how to start a startup, where startups will be guided by policymakers. Besides, funding session, where entrepreneurs will learn about various funding methods; pitching session, where startups will get opportunity to collaborate with investors and put forth their ideas for funding; and ecosystem support session, where participants will learn about brand value and about promoting startup ecosystem in the state will also take plac, the PMO said. A Startup Expo displaying new trends and innovations will also be displayed at the venue.