PM Modi calls on startups to focus on deep tech, global leadership in 10 yrs

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged Indian startups to shift their gaze to manufacturing, deep technology and global leadership, saying the next decade of the Startup India movement must push the country to the front ranks of innovation.

Addressing an event at Bharat Mandapam to mark 10 years of the Startup India initiative, Modi described startups as central to India’s economic and technological future, calling the mission a “revolution” that has changed the country’s entrepreneurial landscape.

Pointing to the pace of growth over the last decade, Modi said India has become the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem. The number of startups has risen from fewer than 500 in 2014 to more than 2 lakh today, he said, including nearly 125 unicorns. During the same period, the unicorn count climbed from four to 125, reflecting the scale of transformation achieved since the initiative began.

“The government is with you in all your efforts. I have faith in your capabilities. Your courage, confidence and innovation are shaping India’s future,” Modi told the gathering.

Startup India was launched on January 16, 2016 with the aim of nurturing innovation, promoting entrepreneurship and creating a generation of job creators. Modi said the mission has helped build a robust national ecosystem of more than 2 lakh startups cutting across sectors and regions.

Reflecting on what has changed in the entrepreneurial environment, the Prime Minister said risk-taking, once discouraged, has become mainstream. Startups, he noted, are increasingly powering employment generation, innovation and India’s global competitiveness.

“The last 10 years have proven India’s entrepreneurial capabilities,” Modi said, adding, “Our goal should be to lead the world in the next 10 years in India’s new startup trends and technologies.”

He also linked India’s global ambitions to emerging strategic sectors, particularly artificial intelligence. Modi said a country’s advantage will grow with its lead in AI innovation. “We need to work on new ideas. Today, many such domains are emerging, which will play an important role in economic security and strategic autonomy in the future. An example of AI is in front of us. The more the nation will be ahead in the AI revolution, the higher the advantage it will have,” he said.

Modi said the IndiaAI mission has onboarded more than 38,000 GPUs to address the challenge of high computing costs associated with AI development. Alongside scale, he underscored the push for domestic capability. “We are also making sure that Indigenous AI should be developed by Indian talents on Indian servers,” he said, adding that similar efforts are underway in semiconductors, data centers and green hydrogen.

As he laid out the expectations for the next phase, Modi asked startups to focus on solving problems with new ideas, while widening their footprint beyond the digital services boom of the last decade.

“In the past decade, we have done great work in the digital startup and service sector. Now is the time for our startups to focus more on manufacturing. We have to make new products. We have to make products of the best quality in the world,” Modi said.

He argued that reaching new heights would require hard work backed by courage and a willingness to take risks, a trait he said is now increasingly accepted in India’s social and professional culture. “I have always emphasised risk-taking because it is an old habit of mine,” he said, referring to decisions that earlier governments avoided due to electoral considerations.

“I do those things as my responsibility for sure. Like you, I also believe that the work that is necessary for the country, someone has to do it. Someone has to take the risk. If there is a loss, it will be mine. If there is a gain, it will benefit millions of families in my country,” Modi said.

The Prime Minister said the programme has also democratised entrepreneurship, shifting business aspirations beyond big cities and wealthy backgrounds. “Most of the middle class and poor children were only able to dream of a job. But Startup India has changed this thinking. Now Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and even villages are launching their startups,” he said.

Modi highlighted women’s growing role in the ecosystem, saying “more than 45 per cent of the recognised startups have a female director or partner.” He added that India has become the second largest ecosystem globally in women-led startup funding.

At the event, Modi interacted with founders and highlighted sectoral breakthroughs, including defence manufacturing, where he said iDEX has opened new procurement pathways, and the space sector, now open to private participation, with nearly 200 startups gaining global recognition. He also cited the drone sector, saying outdated rules once held back progress, but reforms and trust in innovators have reshaped the industry.