New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today took potshots at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying some in politics need to be repeatedly launched, much unlike startups that move on to other avenues in case one venture does not work out.

Without naming anyone, Prime Minister Modi, while speaking at the Startup Mahakumbh here, said many people launch startups, while the number is much more in politics. Some “have to be launched repeatedly”, he said.

The startup ecosystem is experimental and moves on to a new one if a particular startup doesn’t launch, he said, contrasting them with the ones in politics.

Prime Minister Modi exuded confidence of returning to power for a third term in a row and presenting a full Budget for the fiscal year starting April 1.

Businesses, in normal course, put off big events till the elections are over but the large assembly of startup entrepreneurs and people associated with that ecosystem at the three-day ‘Mahakumbh’, days after general elections were announced, is a sign of things to come, he said.

“You know what is going to happen in the next five years,” he said, referring to continuity in governance under him after the April 19 to June 4 general elections.

From less than 100 startups in 2014, India now has 1.25 lakh registered startups, and 12 lakh youth are directly associated with them, he said.

“India today is world’s third largest startup ecosystem… We have over 100 unicorns,” he said.

Indian startups have filed more than 12,000 patents, he said but added that still there are many who have not grasped the significance of going in for patents.

Prime Minister Modi exhorted entrepreneurs and innovators to file for patents, given the fast pace at which the world is moving.

He said there was a time when education meant getting a job, and government job meant a person is settled.

“That mindset has changed,” he said, citing the startup revolution sweeping the country.

Earlier, innovators with ideas would worry about funding, and it was believed that only those with financing could do business.

“The startup (culture) has broken that mindset and psych… this is how revolutions happen… The youth have opted to become job creators more than jobseekers,” Modi said.

Backed by initiatives like Startup India and Standup India, the nation’s youth has proven its mettle, he said.

Prime Minister Modi said his efforts have always been to unshackle and unleash a sector’s potential, unlike the practices of the past where the government’s approach was to hold back.

“Today, Indian startups are showing good work in frontiers like space. Already, our startups are launching space shuttles in such a short time,” he added.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Startup Mahakumbh at the Bharat Mandapam, in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: PTI

India has emerged as the world’s third largest startup ecosystem with over 1.25 lakh startups and 110 unicorns, and is charting a roadmap for becoming a developed nation with the right decisions taken at the right time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on March 20.

Speaking at the Startup Mahakumbh event, Mr. Modi said India’s startup ecosystem is not limited to metro cities, it has now become a social culture.

Mr. Modi vowed that he would make India the world’s third-largest economy in his third term, and asserted that startups will play a big role in India’s progress.

The Startup India initiative gave a platform to innovative ideas, and connected entrepreneurs and ventures to funding, he said.

India’s youth has chosen the path of being job creators rather than job seekers, Mr. Modi said, highlighting the changing mindset of people.

He said women are leading more than 45% of Indian startups. India has democratised technology, and therefore the ‘haves and have-nots’ theory can not work here.

The ₹1 lakh crore fund announced for research and innovation in interim budget will help the sunrise sectors, Mr. Modi said.