Following recent praise for the central government from various startup founders and business leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led dispensation at the Centre “actively encourages” startups and wealth creation in the country, and remains committed to providing the right environment for startups to flourish. In a series of posts on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Modi responded to comments made by top executives of companies like Zomato, Urban Company, Mamaearth, and MapMyIndia at an event on Monday hosted by Cabinet Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. At the event, which also had Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar in attendance, some big names in India’s startup ecosystem had praised the Modi government for encouraging entrepreneurship and startups, and pushing for more technological innovation and manufacturing in various sectors. Coming bang in the middle of the Lok Sabha election, the comments are seen as an endorsement of the Modi government by a section of the industry. “In today’s India, one’s surname doesn’t matter. What matters is hardwork. Your journey is truly inspiring, @deepigoyal! It motivates countless youngsters to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams. We are committed to providing the right environment for the startups to flourish,” Modi posted in response to a video clip of Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal. At the event on Monday, the Zomato founder had remarked that his father thought Goyal would not do well as an entrepreneur due to their “humble background”, but the government and its initiatives enabled “a small town boy” like him to build Zomato, which has provided employment to lakhs of people. “Keep up the great work and continue to inspire others with your success, Varun! Ours is a Government which actively encourages StartUps and wealth creation. We are proud of the youthful energy in every part of our nation, especially the Tier-2 and 3 cities,” Modi said in a post responding to comments made by Mamaearth founder Varun Alagh. At Monday’s event, Alagh had said that despite coming from middle class backgrounds, he and his wife Ghazal were able to build their company from scratch over the past eight years with the help of the ecosystem provided by the Modi government. Urban Company founder Abhiraj Singh Bhal had said that the government was instrumental in helping the home services startup build a certified and skilled workforce, and praised the Startup India initiative as well. In response, Modi posted: “Rightly said, Abhiraj! The @startupindia initiative has clearly fostered a conducive environment for innovation and growth.” The entrepreneurs also commended the opening up of the strategic sectors like space, geospatial, and defence. MapMyIndia CEO Rohan Verma had said that the government unlocked opportunities in the space and geospatial sectors over the past four years. “And not just for us as a company but for the country, it is Prime Minister Modi’s vision for what maps and geospatial can do…in one year 2021, opening maps, geospatial, space and drone, he unlocked this trinity of technologies that can take the country into a different direction,” Verma said. Modi in response posted that India’s recent strides in the space sector has been appreciated by the entire world. “Our government has and will continue to make every possible effort to transform the crucial space and geospatial sectors,” Modi said in a post. Venture capital firm Peak XV Partners’s Managing Director Rajan Anandan had also praised the opening up of strategic sectors like space and defence, which has “spurred innovation” in these areas. He said that with the government’s efforts, India has emerged at the “top innovator” in sectors like aerospace, space, and defence, something that was “unthinkable” earlier. “Agree with you, Rajan Anandan! Our government stands steadfastly with innovators and wealth creators. We appreciate their zeal and efforts to enhance growth,” Modi said in a post. Sunil Vachani, Chairman, Dixon Technologies said India was earlier importing all mobile phones and now is producing $100 billion worth of electronic products. “Probably it is the first time in history that our country has produced $100 billion worth of electronic products. Not only that, the category of electronics and mobile phones is the fifth largest category of exports. The Josh is so high now that we are looking at almost $100 billion of exports of mobile phones alone happening in the country,” he said, thanking proactive policies of the Government of India and the ministries. Vachani said the biggest change that has happened was the call by the Prime Minister a few years ago to make in India. “This is the biggest change that has happened,” he said. Responding to criticisms about India’s manufacturing sector, Vachchani said the value addition is still low, at about 20 per cent. “But I am very happy to tell you that if you look at other product categories like LED lighting, televisions and some other products, the value addition in the country is as high as almost 75 per cent,” he said, adding that one of the priorities should be creation of a strong and robust component ecosystem with support like inclusion in the production-linked incentive scheme. Responding to the video of Vachani’s remarks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was in agreement. “The transformation in India’s mobile phone and electronics industry is truly remarkable. It is a testament to India’s potential and the proactive steps taken in the last few years to realise it,” Modi said in a post.
