NEW DELHI: While addressing the inaugural session of Startup India Innovation Week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India is rapidly moving towards the century mark of ‘unicorn club’. During the event on Saturday, January 15, he mentioned how 42 new startups have joined the ‘unicorn club’ in last one year. India is currently home to the third largest number of unicorns. It has close to 80 startups with a valuation of $1 billion.
According to the estimates of the Government of India, the annual funding in Indian startups has more than tripled from around $11 billion to $36 billion within a year. PM Modi said that India’s startups will become the backbone of new India. He encouraged startups to expand their footprint across the globe. He asked them to ‘Innovate for India and Innovate from India’. He listed out areas such as urban planning, defence and Gati Shakti, where startups can contribute to the Indian economy in a major way. He also announced that January 16, will be henceforth celebrated as National Startup Day, when the Startup India Mission was launched in 2016.