Prime Minister Modi announces Rs 1,000 cr Startup India seed fund

Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with startups and addressed ‘Prarambh: Startup India International Summit’ via video conferencing on Saturday, January 16, 2021. Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that the start-ups are changing the demographic characteristics of today’s business. He pointed out that 44 per cent recognised startups have women directors and number of women working in these start up is very high. Similarly, 45 per cent startups are in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, working as the brand ambassadors of the local products. Every state is supporting and incubating startups as per local possibilities and 80 per cent of districts of the country are now part of the Startup India mission.

In 2014, only 4 Indian startups were in the ‘Unicorn club’ now, more than 30 startups have crossed the 1 billon mark, Modi added. Noting the fact that 11 startups entered the ‘Unicorn club’ in 2020 during the Corona time, the Prime Minister underlined their contribution in the Aatmnirbharta during the crisis.

The Prime Minister also announced launching of Startup India seed fund with Rs 1,000 crore so that there is no shortage of seed money for startups. The Government will also help the startups in raising capital through guarantees.

The Prime Minister said that the biggest USP of the startup world is its disruption and diversification capacity. He was addressing ‘Prarambh: Startup India International Summit’ today via video conferencing today. 

Modi further said that the biggest USP of the startup world is its disruption and diversification capacity. Disruption – as startups are giving rise to new approaches, new technology and new ways. They are changing the time-worn ways of thinking. Diversification – because a large number are coming up with diverse ideas bringing revolution is diverse sectors with unprecedented scale and substance. “They are revolutionising multiple sectors. The greatest feature of this ecosystem is that it is guided more by passion than pragmatism. This ‘can-do’ spirit is evident in the way India is working today,” Modi said.

The Prime Minister gave the example of BHIM UPI, which has revolutionised the payment system as only in December 2020, 4 lakh crore worth of transactions took place through UPI in India. Similarly, India is leading in solar and AI sector.

“India is working for a startup ecosystem based on the mantra ‘Of the Youth, By the Youth, For the Youth’. We have to fix our goals for the next five years and these goals should be that our startups, our unicorns should emerge as global giants and lead in the futuristic technologies,” Modi concluded.