Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India has undergone a fundamental cultural shift over the past decade, where risk-taking and entrepreneurship are no longer discouraged but increasingly respected.
Addressing startup founders and innovators at the National Startup Day programme in New Delhi marking a decade of Startup India, Modi said earlier generations were often conditioned to prioritise stable monthly salaries, while new ventures and business risks were viewed with hesitation. That mindset, he said, has changed as risk-taking has become mainstream.
According to the Prime Minister, young Indians today are unwilling to remain in comfort zones or follow only well-trodden paths, choosing instead to carve out new routes driven by ambition, innovation and a desire to solve real-world problems. Ideas that were once seen as unconventional are now gaining wider acceptance in society.
Modi linked this shift to the growth of the Startup India ecosystem, which has expanded from a few hundred recognised startups a decade ago to more than 2 lakh DPIIT-recognised startups today, making India the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem. He said this transformation has opened entrepreneurship to youth from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and even villages, breaking the long-held belief that startups were the preserve of large industrial families.
He emphasised that courage is the first requirement for enterprise, noting that meaningful progress often involves uncertainty and risk. The Prime Minister added that this change in social acceptance has played a key role in driving innovation, job creation and broader economic growth.
As India looks to the next decade of Startup India, Modi said the respect now accorded to entrepreneurial risk must continue, with startups leading the country into new technologies, emerging industries and greater global leadership
