PM Modi Urges Young Innovators To Take Bold Risks For India’s Development

PM Modi urged young innovators to embrace risk and drive India’s development, highlighting reforms like NEP 2020, startups, and the drone sector. He also encouraged blending Indian culture with modern innovation to promote self-reliance and creativity.

Photo Credit: IANS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged young innovators to develop a stronger risk appetite, praising Gen Z for its creativity and commitment to nation-building while taking a swipe at what he described as the policy paralysis of previous governments.

Addressing participants at the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue, the Prime Minister said innovation demands courage and assured the youth of full government support. “Young innovators should move ahead with the mindset of taking bigger risks. The government is with you, and you may not need to take a backward step,” he said.

Speaking at the concluding session of the Dialogue, PM Modi highlighted reforms such as the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020, calling it a key step in moving away from the colonial-era education system shaped by Lord Macaulay. He said the policy was helping India shed a mindset that had held back creativity and self-reliance for decades.

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Emphasising the importance of Swadeshi, the Prime Minister urged the youth to help free the country from the lingering influence of colonial thinking. He referred to initiatives such as PM Setu, under which Industrial Training Institutes are being upgraded to promote skills, entrepreneurship and enterprise.

“There are still ten years left before the 200th anniversary of Macaulay’s education policy,” he said. “I am confident that during this period, our young generation will take the country completely out of the colonial mindset.”

Recalling the situation before 2014, PM Modi said the startup ecosystem was once in a poor state, with only around 500 startups across the country. “Today, India has more than 1.5 lakh startups,” he said, attributing the growth to policy and tax reforms, ease of doing business and sustained government support.

He also pointed to the rapid expansion of India’s space sector, noting that more than 300 startups are now active in the field. The Prime Minister said this reflected the success of nurturing innovation through clear policies and confidence in young entrepreneurs.

Referring to discussions held during the Dialogue on themes such as women-led development and youth participation in democracy, PM Modi said these conversations strengthened his belief that the younger generation would drive India’s progress in the coming decades. “With innovative ideas, energy and purpose, Yuva Shakti is at the forefront of nation-building,” he said.

The Prime Minister also highlighted the government’s decision to liberalise the drone sector by removing restrictive rules. “Our simplification of the drone policy has ensured that our Make in India drones are defeating enemies on the battlefield and drone Didis are flourishing in the agriculture sector,” he said.

Citing the growth of innovation in defence and technology, PM Modi said Digital India had helped create a new generation of entrepreneurs, with nearly 1,000 defence startups now operating in the country.

He encouraged innovators to explore India’s cultural heritage in emerging sectors such as gaming, suggesting that mythological figures could become global icons. “Our Lord Hanuman can run the entire gaming sector single-handedly,” he said, adding that this would also help popularise Indian culture worldwide.

Calling on the youth to move forward with confidence, the Prime Minister urged them to promote a culture of dialogue and development at the state and district levels, saying their ideas and leadership would shape India’s future.

(With IANS inputs)