Viksit Bharat Ambassador meet-up: India is world's 3rd largest start-up ecosystem today, says I&B Minister Anurag Thakur

New Delhi: Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur on Sunday briefed the Viksit Bharat Ambassadors and enthusiasts about the country's rapid strides in the field of manufacturing, technology, aviation and other sectors and said that all this has been made possible with the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Ten years ago, there were just 400-500 start-up enterprises but today, thousands of them have mushroomed across the country because of the nation's 'Yuva Shakti' and the Narendra Modi government's start-up friendly policy. Today, India has become the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world," the Union Minister told the participants at the Viksit Bharat Ambassadors' meet-up event in Jaipur.

He further said that the nation is home to 110 unicorns today, with valuations up to Rs 8,600 crore, which in turn are contributing greatly to the generation of umpteen jobs and employment opportunities.

"From fragile five to first five countries of the world, today India is the fifth largest economy in the world and is headed for further glory," he added.

Drawing a comparison between growth statistics of the UPA and NDA eras, he said that "poor decision-making, multiple scams, crony capitalism and policy paralysis" marked the previous regimes, while the consistent and focused policy under 10 years of the Narendra Modi government paved the way for India's emergence as a bright spot in the world.

Giving an insight into the country's improved economic scenario, he said that India's exports have risen from $ 466 billion to $ 770 billion while forex reserves have clocked a rise from Rs 303 billion to Rs 617 billion in the past 10 years.

The Union Minister also cited data to show how the Centre's social welfare schemes have brought enormous change in people's lives.

"Under Suraksha Bima Yojana, people are getting Rs 2 lakh insurance at the cost of just Rs 12. About 4 crore pucca houses have been delivered to the needy and the poor, 12 crore toilets have been built in towns and villages, over 10 crore women have got free LGP gas cylinders while 13 crore houses have access to clean drinking water under 'Nal Se Jal' programme and 25 crore persons have been lifted out of poverty line in 10 years," he said.

Lauding the nation's Yuva Shakti, he said that the founders of many iconic enterprises like PayTm, Byju’s, and Flipkart are young Indians.

He also said that 'drone didis' will soon present a new face of the country, when they will be seen spraying pesticides in the agricultural fields through drones.

The Union Minister also underscored the need and importance of turning the country into a formal economy and said that the government has launched many programmes in this direction, including Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), e-Shram cards, PM SVANidhi scheme and more.

"DBT has plugged leakages and loopholes and ensured 100 per cent transfer of welfare funds to people, 30 crore eShram cards have transformed unorganized sectors into formal ones while the financial assistance under PM SVANidhi scheme and PM Vishwakarma Yojana is bringing exemplary change to people's lives," he said.