Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
New Delhi, January 16
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced the launch of Rs 1,000-crore ‘Startup India Seed Fund’ to support startups and help budding entrepreneurs pursue innovative ideas.
Addressing the ‘Prarambh: Startup India International Summit’, Modi exuded confidence that the growth of startups would help in generating jobs and improving lives of people in the region.
“In order to provide initial capital for startups, the nation is launching a Rs 1,000 crore Startup India Seed Fund. This will help in setting up new startups and promote their growth,” said the Prime Minister.
The summit marked the fifth anniversary of the ‘Startup India’ initiative launched by Modi on this day in 2016.
The government, Modi added, has been implementing the Fund of Fund Scheme to help startups raise equity capital.
Going forward, the government will also help startups in raising debt capital, he added.
India, the Prime Minister said, was home to the world’s third largest startup ecosystem which had helped several budding entrepreneurs to come up with innovative technologies and become big corporations.
He further said that startups in India were not limited to big cities and about 40 per cent of such budding entrepreneurs were coming from tier-II and -III cities.
Modi said in 2014 there were only four startups in the unicorn club, but today there were more than 30.
He informed that 11 startups entered the unicorn club in 2020 itself. India is the world’s third largest startup ecosystem. There are over 41,000 startups in the country
**EDS: VIDEO GRAB FROM OFFICIAL YOUTUBE CHANNEL OF PM MODI** New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually launches pan-India rollout of COVID-19 vaccination drive, in New Delhi, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021. (PTI Photo)(PTI01_16_2021_000040B)
