'We Grow with the World and for the World': PM Modi Highlights Startup Growth, Digital Innovation

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday highlighted India's digital ecosystem and the role of technology in promoting inclusion, citing the country's digital payment platform as an example of how businesses of different scales can access the same system. "We do not grow at anyone's cost. We grow with the world and for the world," the PM said while addressing a gathering at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum.

PM Modi described India as the “Mother of Democracy” while highlighting its linguistic diversity, media landscape and growing social media user base as examples of the country's openness to different perspectives. “India is the Mother of Democracy. India has over 100 languages, around 80,000 registered newspapers and publications, and more than 1,000 satellite television channels,” the Prime Minister said.

Highlighting India's digital reach, PM Modi said the country had more than 500 million YouTube users and over 500 million Instagram users. He added that people in India openly debated issues and discussed different perspectives, with digital power playing a significant role in facilitating these exchanges.

Inviting international delegates to experience India's digital payment ecosystem, the Prime Minister encouraged them to try the country's digital payment facilities. “I would tell the guests who have come from abroad to try India's digital payment ecosystem,” PM Modi said.

Explaining how the system accommodates businesses of different sizes, Pm Modi said a street vendor and a car showroom operator, despite differences in their businesses and scale of operations, could use the same digital payment platform in India. “In our country, a street vendor and a car showroom have different kinds of businesses and operate at different scales, but in India, both use the same digital payment platform,” he said.

Emphasising the importance of making technology accessible across economic segments, the Prime Minister said, “This is the power of inclusive technology.” PM Modi remarks highlighted India's approach to using digital infrastructure to expand access to technology and payment services for businesses of varying sizes.

Prime Minister also highlighted India's growth in startups and digital innovation, stating that the number of startups in the country has increased from a few hundred before 2014 to over 2.5 lakh. PM Modi said opportunities for innovation were reaching more people, with nearly half of startups coming from small cities and towns and 45 per cent having a woman director or partner.

“Before 2014, there were only a few hundred startups in India; now, their number in the country has exceeded 2.5 lakh,” the Prime Minister said. Highlighting the growing participation of people from different regions and backgrounds in the startup ecosystem, PM Modi said, “Nearly half of the startups come from small cities and towns. 45% of startups have a woman director or partner.”

“In other words, opportunities for innovation are reaching more people, and more talents are emerging,” he added. The Prime Minister said India was also sharing its experience with Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) with other countries to help them develop digital systems suited to their needs.

“We are sharing our experience with Digital Public Infrastructure with other countries so that they can develop their digital systems according to their needs,” PM Modi said. Referring to India's digital initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic, PM Modi said the country had developed the CoWIN platform as an open-source system. He said India's capabilities should help create opportunities for other countries as well.

“During COVID-19, we also created the CoWIN platform, which was open source. Our continuous efforts are aimed at ensuring that India’s capabilities open new doors of possibility for other countries as well. In other words, our capabilities should empower humanity,” he said.

Emphasising the wider significance of innovation, PM Modi said turning ideas into products and problems into solutions was an important capability, but its impact increased when more people had access to such opportunities. “Friends, the power of innovation is also like this. Turning an idea into a product and a problem into a solution is a great capability in itself. But when more and more people in society get this opportunity, the balance of power is maintained, and its impact increases manifold,” the Prime Minister said.

PM Modi also highlighted the role of technology in improving the delivery of government assistance, saying it had enabled direct transfers to beneficiaries' bank accounts. “Using technology, we have created a system to transfer government assistance directly to the bank accounts of beneficiaries,” he said.

The Prime Minister added that the system had helped reduce corruption, improved convenience for citizens, and established a direct channel between the government and the people. The eighth edition of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum (the “Forum”), hosted in India, convenes more than 500 of the world’s most influential public and private sector leaders.

Under the theme “A World in Play: Defining the New Levers of Power”, delegates will examine the changing state of geopolitics, identify the risks and opportunities presented by this period of uncertainty, exchange ideas, and collaborate on a roadmap toward future prosperity. 

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