Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a frontal attack on the Congress saying “about a decade was lost in nepotism, policy paralysis and scams" when the party was in power while the BJP-led government has restored faith in the innovation strength of the youth and created a conducive ecosystem for the growth of startups.
The attack on the Congress comes at a time when the party’s leadership has been criticising the BJP’s policies at a Chintan Shivir being held in Rajasthan’s Udaipur.
Rolling out the Madhya Pradesh Startup Policy via video conferencing during the Madhya Pradesh Startup Conclave being held in Indore on Friday, the Prime Minister pointed out that there were only 300-400 startups in 2014 till the Congress was in power but eight years after that India has 70,000 recognized startups.
"In India, there was always eagerness to do something new. We have experienced it during our IT revolution. The need was to channelize the atmosphere created by it, a direction should have been given but this did not happen. We have seen that around one decade was lost in nepotism, policy paralysis and scams. This destroyed the dreams of a generation in one decade. Our youth have ideas, are eager for innovation but they were left confused due to the lack of clear policies of previous governments," he said.
The Prime Minister said, "After 2014, we revived the spirit of innovation in India's youth. We focused on 'idea, innovation and industry'. First, we invested in infrastructure and reduced compliances and promoted a broader, innovative mindset. We worked on different fronts and organised Hackathons," he said.
PM Modi said that the startups in the country were not limited to metro cities as around 50 per cent startups are in Tier 2-3 cities. Every 7-8 days a new unicorn is made in this country, he added.
He said startups give solutions to real world problems and today's startups become future MNCs.
PM Modi referred to a three-pronged approach to push the sector by creating a roadmap ranging from idea to innovation to industry.
He said reforms carried out in the sectors such as space, mapping and drones were are opening new opportunities for the startups.
PM Modi said the government is giving a big push for the gaming industry and toy industry.. He also informed that more than 800 Indian startups are involved in the sports sector.
"We have to provide new momentum and height to India's success. Today India is the fastest-growing economy among the G-20 economies," he pointed out.
Noting that India is the third-largest economy in the world, he said India is the first place in terms of smartphone, data consumption and second in terms of Internet users.
India is at the second place in the Global Retail Index, is the third-largest energy consumer country of the world and the world's third-largest consumer market.
India has created a new record by doing merchandise exports worth 470 billion dollars this year.
Noting that there is an unprecedented investment in the infrastructure, he said there is an unprecedented emphasis on ease of doing business as well as ease of living in India.
"Our efforts in the Amrit Kaal will set the direction of the country and we will fulfil the aspirations of the country with our collective endeavour," PM Modi added.
