The government will unveil a blueprint for start-ups in the country on January 16, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his monthly radio programme Mann ki Baat on Sunday (27 December).
"On the 15th of Aug, from the Red Fort, I talked about India becoming a start-up destination... Subsequently, the talk about whether India can indeed become a Start-up capital of the world. On January 16 we are coming out with an action plan on start-ups," PM Modi said.
"Startup India, Stand up India programme will connect bright minds from IT in all colleges through live connectivity... Youth all over India have the talent and the capability to propel India's growth," he added.
The Start-up initiative, as envisaged by the Prime Minister, involves bank loans for entrepreneurs. Each of the nation's 1.25 lakh bank branches should encourage at least one Dalit or tribal entrepreneur and at least one woman entrepreneur, he had announced from the ramparts of the Red Fort.
In his Independence Day speech, Modi had announced a new campaign 'Startup India; Stand up India' to promote bank financing for startups and offer incentives to boost entrepreneurship and job creation in the country. Since theny, 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. Aimed at giving a big boost to startups in India, as many as seven MoUs have been signed between various organisations of India and the US.
On October 17, delivering the C K Prahalad Memorial Lecture at the TiECon Delhi 2015. Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make a series of "very important" announcements to promote startups in the country in early to mid-December.
2015 was the year when Indian startup industry bloomed as well as got a reality check. The record fundraising by Indian startups -- which actually began in 2014 when Flipkart raised $1 billion at a valuation of between $5 billion and $7 billion -- continued in 2015 too. The year saw companies like Ola, Snapdeal, Quikr, Zomato and Paytm cross $1 billion in valuation and join Unicorn club.
