Government prioritizes entrepreneurship to empower youth: Jitendra Singh
3 min read 02 Jun 2023, 10:16 PM ISTJitendra Singh emphasized that the government’s efforts to promote startups have yielded significant success, with India now boasting the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem
PremiumUnion Minister Jitendra Singh on Friday highlighted the government’s focus on fostering entrepreneurship and job creation during the last nine years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Speaking at a youth congregation, Singh emphasized that the government’s efforts to promote startups have yielded significant success, with India now boasting the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem.
The minister pointed out that before 2014, there were only about 350 startups in India. However, after Prime Minister Modi’s clarion call for startups in his 2015 Independence Day address and the launch of the Startup India scheme in 2016, there has been a remarkable surge in startup activities. Presently, India is home to 92,683 startups, including 115 unicorns (billion-dollar enterprises), making it a global leader in startup innovation.
Highlighting the impact of startups on job creation, Singh mentioned that in 2022 alone, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade recognized 26,542 entities as startups. A NASSCOM study revealed that tech startups generated approximately 23 lakh direct and indirect jobs between 2017 and 2021. Moreover, startups reported the creation of one million jobs directly and several more indirectly since the launch of the Startup India initiative in 2016, marking a significant increase from the meager 10 jobs created prior to 2016.
The minister observed that India’s youth is gradually shifting away from the traditional government job mindset and embracing entrepreneurship, thereby generating numerous job opportunities across various sectors. He emphasized that the government’s focus over the past nine years has been on fostering not only employment but also entrepreneurship.
In addition to the Startup India program, Singh highlighted the StandUp India scheme, launched in 2016, which facilitates bank loans for setting up greenfield enterprises in the trading, services, or manufacturing sectors, benefiting at least 2.5 lakh borrowers from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
He also emphasized Prime Minister Modi’s vision of making India a global leader in startups and underscored the government’s efforts to open doors to private sector participation in the space sector and foster growth in the biotech industry.
Singh encouraged aspiring entrepreneurs to explore untapped sectors such as agriculture, suggesting that the farm sector is ripe for a technological revolution. He stressed the importance of promoting agri-tech startups, citing the significant contributions made by the Aroma Mission in cultivating crops like lavender, lemon grass, and rose for high-value oil extraction.
The minister also highlighted the government’s initiatives to empower marginalized sections of society, such as the MUDRA Yojana and Stand Up India, which have facilitated loans to entrepreneurs from disadvantaged backgrounds. He further highlighted the substantial rise in new EPFO accounts and the implementation of the National Education Policy, which has provided skill training to over 1.37 crore young individuals.
Jitendra Singh concluded by stating that the government’s focus has not solely been on job creation but also on cultivating entrepreneurship, transforming the youth from job seekers to job creators. With the government’s unwavering commitment to fostering a conducive ecosystem for startups and entrepreneurship, India is poised to realize its vision of becoming a global leader in innovation and economic growth.