New Delhi: In a bid to fuel the culture of entrepreneurship, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that January 16 would be observed as the National Start-up Day to take the startup spirit to far-flung areas of the country.
“Our start-ups are changing the rules of the game. That is why I believe start-ups are going to be the backbone of new India. Last year, 42 unicorns came up in the country. These companies worth thousands of crores of rupees are the hallmark of self-reliant and self-confident India,” said Modi while interacting with starts-up via video conferencing.
“Today India is rapidly moving towards hitting the century of the unicorns. I believe the golden era of India's start-ups is starting now,” he said, adding that three aspects of government efforts – first to liberate entrepreneurship, innovation from the web of government processes, and bureaucratic silos, second, creating an institutional mechanism to promote innovation; third, handholding of young innovators and young enterprises – will do wonders.
“I congratulate all the start-ups of the country, all the innovative youth, who are raising the flag of India in the world of start-ups. For this culture of start-ups to reach the far-flung parts of the country, it has been decided to celebrate January 16 as National Start-up Day,” he said.
The Prime Minister said the government’s effort is to institutionalize innovation in the country by creating attraction for innovation among students since childhood. More than 9000 Atal Tinkering Labs are giving children a chance to innovate in schools and work on new ideas. Our government has simplified the rules related to IPR registration too, he added.
The Prime Minister noted the exponential rise in the indicators of innovation. He said that in the year 2013-14, 4000 patents were approved. Last year, more than 28 thousand patents were granted. In 2013-14, about 70000 trademarks were registered, while in 2020-21 more than 2.5 lakh trademarks have been registered.
In the year 2013-14, where only 4000 copyrights were granted, last year their number has crossed 16000. The Prime Minister pointed out that India’s campaign for innovation has resulted in improvement of India’s ranking in Global innovation index where India stood at 81 rank but now India stands at 46 rank in the index.
The Prime Minister noted that last year, 42 unicorns came up in the country. These companies worth thousands of crores of rupees are the hallmark of self-reliant and self-confident India. “Today India is rapidly moving towards hitting the century of the unicorns. I believe the golden era of India's start-ups is starting now,” he added. /BI/
