New Delhi: Seeking to boost entrepreneurship at the grassroots level, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the Action Plan of the ‘Start-up India, Stand-up India’ will be unveiled on January 16 and urged the states to help spread this campaign across the country’s nook and corner
Modi, who had made the announcement about the campaign in his last Independence Day address, said the programme will be designed to suit Indian conditions and focus would be on ensuring benefits for the youth from the lowest strata of the society.
“My dear young friends, in my August 15 address from the Red Fort, I had made preliminary mention about ‘Start-up India, Stand-up India’. After that, this spread to all the departments of the government.
“Can India be a ‘Start-up Capital’? Can the youth in the states have the opportunities in the form of start-ups, with innovations, whether it be manufacturing, service sector or agriculture? In everything, there should be freshness, new ways, new thinking. The world cannot move ahead without innovation,” he said in his monthly ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio programme, the last one for this year
He said the ‘Start-up India, Stand-up India’ campaign has brought new opportunities for the youth.
“On January 16, the government of India will unveil the full Action Plan of Start-up India, Stand-up India… A structure will be presented before you. This programme will be connected to the country’s IITs, IIMs, central universities and NITs. Wherever there are youth, they will be linked through ‘live connectivity,” the Prime Minister said
The programme is aimed at promoting bank financing for start-up ventures and offer incentives to boost entrepreneurship and job creation.
Since the announcement on Independence Day, PM Modi has spoken repeatedly about the importance of entrepreneurship and the resulting job creation in getting the nation to move forward.
Several start-up festivals have been held abroad, notably during PM Modi’s recent visit to California.
At the Start-up Konnect programme in Silicon Valley, he had said the start-up ecosystem was developing rapidly, fueled by the great energy and innovation of India’s youth. He also said he wanted start-ups to embrace the rural India as much as the Urban India.
“I want this especially for our rural women, who have shown marvellous success in enterprise, whenever they have had opportunity. They transform not only our rural economy, but also our society,” PM Modi added.
(With PTI inputs)