Kumar Bahukhandi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses mega event marking a decade of the flagship programme Startup India, on January 16, 2026. Photo: X/@narendramodi
New Delhi : India’s youth and entrepreneurs are focused on solving real problems, and the Startup India mission has become a revolution, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday January 16, 2026 .
Speaking at a mega event marking a decade of the flagship programme ‘Startup India’, Modi said the ecosystem that started with four startups in 2014 has grown to over 125 active unicorns.
India is the third largest startup ecosystem in the world, with the startup tally now surpassing 2 lakh.
The Startup India momentum is accelerating, with unicorns launching IPOs and creating jobs, he said.
Indian youth is focused on solving real problems, and the Startup India mission has become a revolution, according to the PM.
Youth in tier-2 and 3 cities, even those in rural areas, are setting up their own ventures, Modi said.
Today, 45 per cent of startups have either one woman director or partner, he added.
Risk-taking, which was discouraged, has become mainstream, he observed, lauding India’s startup founders for their “impressive” confidence and ambitions.
“Those risk-taking ideas that were earlier considered fringe, have now become fashion,” he said, adding that the country’s youth does not want to work in comfort zones.
(Source-PTI)
