Startups are playing pivotal role in building Aatmanirbhar Bharat: PM

The Startup India has completed ten years. Addressing an event marking a decade of Startup India on National Startup Day in New Delhi on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said  the Startup India Mission has become a revolution and today, India is the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem. Saying that India’s youth are focused on solving real problems, the Prime Minister commended all the young innovators who have shown the courage to see new dreams. He said, on National Startup Day, this gathering of startup founders and innovators reflects the future of a new and rapidly developing India. 

Startup India केवल एक scheme नहीं, बल्कि एक Rainbow Vision है।

ये अलग-अलग sectors को नई opportunities से जोड़ने का जरिया है।#10YearsOfStartupIndia pic.twitter.com/1lKog5E0aO

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) January 16, 2026

In his address, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said, in the last decade a big change has been brought in the startup ecosystem under the leadership of the Prime Minister. He said, in 2016 there were just 400 startups but now it has reached to over two lakh.  
Startup India was launched on 16 January 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a transformative national programme to nurture innovation, promote entrepreneurship and enable investment-driven growth. The objective of this initiative is to make India a nation of job creators rather than job seekers. Over the past decade, Startup India has emerged as a cornerstone of India’s economic and innovation architecture. It has strengthened institutional mechanisms, expanded access to capital and mentorship, and fostered an enabling environment for startups to grow and scale across sectors and geographies. India’s startup ecosystem has witnessed unprecedented expansion during this period, with more than two lakh startups recognised across the country.