PM Modi Declares January 16 As 'National Start-up Day'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared January 16 to be celebrated as 'National Start-Up Day'. Modi made the announcement during a virtual interaction with over 150 startups on Saturday as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. "Start-ups are going to be the backbone of new India. When India completes 100 years of independence, start-ups will have an important role. Country's innovators are making the country proud globally," Modi said, according to various reports. 

The Mahotsav event was held from January 10 to 16 and was hosted by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and marked the sixth anniversary of the Startup India initiative. The aim of the interaction was to understand how startups can contribute to national needs by driving innovation in the country.

Hailing the present decade as the 'techade', Modi said that the number of Indian startups has today crossed over 60,000 and five years back the number was as meagre as 500. He further noted that Indian startups are now working across 55 industries. 

"India, today, believes in its youth and is making policies in line with the same," PM Modi added.

Interacting further with the participants, he said, "Make your dream global and not local."

He further urged the startups to approach rural and semi-urban areas for developing their startups, as that would not only come with challenges but an immense potential. 

The Prime Minister Office said that the initiative to boost startups has had a tremendous impact on the startup ecosystem in the country, and has led to a staggering growth of unicorns in the country.