ASSERTING that this is an era of start-ups, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India is leading the world in this field with more than 70 start-ups having crossed the valuation of USD 1 billion. In his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast, the Prime Minister also said that he wants to be in service of people and not be “in power”. “I am not in power even today and I don’t want to be in power in future also. I only want to be in service; for me this post, this prime ministership, all these things are not at all for power, they are for service,” he said when an Ayushman Bharat beneficiary wished him to remain in power. Modi said that in the many works of the Government, amidst the many schemes of development, things related to human sensitivities always give a different kind of joy. “With the efforts of the Government, with the schemes of the Government, the way a life changed... what is the experience of that changed life? When we hear this, we too are filled with empathy.

 

It also gives satisfaction to the mind and gives inspiration too to take that scheme to the people,” he said. Modi spoke with two people who got their treatment done with the help of the Ayushman Bharat scheme, which, they said, changed their life for the better. The Prime Minister also cautioned people that coronavirus has not gone yet and “it is the responsibility of all of us to take precautions”. In his broadcast, Modi said that in any country having a large population of youth, three things -- ideas and innovation, passion to take risks and the ‘can do’ spirit-- matter a lot. When these three things come together, unprecedented results are achieved and miracles happen, he said. “These days we hear all around us, start-up, start-up, start-up. It is true that this is the era of start-ups and it is also true that in the field of start-ups, in a way, India is leading the world,” Modi said. He noted that year after year start-ups are getting record investments and this sector is growing at a fast pace.

 

“Even in small cities of the country, the reach of start-ups has increased. Nowadays the word unicorn is much in discussion. Unicorn is a start-up whose valuation is one billion dollars, around Rs 7,000 crore,” Modi said. “Till 2015, there used to be nine or 10 unicorns in the country, you will be very happy to know that now India is flying high in the world of unicorns as well. According to a report, a big change has come this year. In just 10 months, a unicorn is being raised in India every 10 days,” he said. This is a big thing because the country’s youth achieved this success in the midst of the COVID pandemic, he said. “Today, there are more than 70 unicorns in India, that is, more than 70 start-ups have crossed the valuation of USD 1 billion,” Modi said.