Gujarat: Amit Shah inaugurates two-day "Startup Conclave and Exhibition-2025" in Gandhinagar

Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], September 23 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday inaugurated the two-day “Startup Conclave and Exhibition-2025” in Gandhinagar, in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.

Following the inauguration of the startup exhibition, Shah visited various startup stalls, interacted with entrepreneurs, and encouraged them.

Gujarat Minister of Higher and Technical Education Rushikesh Patel and Minister of Industries Balvantsinh Rajput graced the event.

While inaugurating the “Startup Conclave-2025” in Gandhinagar, Shah stated that the conclave would act as a platform to bring Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Mind to Market” vision to life.

According to an official release, guided by the Prime Minister, India’s startup sector has witnessed over 380 per cent growth in the past decade, establishing the country as the world’s third-largest startup and digital ecosystem today.

Lauding the nation’s youth entrepreneurs for transforming the startup landscape, Shah said that before 2014, India had only about 500 startups and merely four unicorns.

“Thanks to the incentives and support provided by PM Modi to harness the potential of the country’s youth, India now boasts over 1.92 lakh startups and more than 120 unicorns, with a total valuation exceeding USD 350 billion. As a result, the youth of India are evolving from being job seekers to job creators. He also appealed to industrialists and investors to capitalise on this remarkable potential among young entrepreneurs,” he said, as per the release.

Speaking about the second edition of the Startup Conclave, Shah said that during this two-day event, seven sessions would engage in discussions and deliberations to address challenges, aiming to make India excel across all sectors and bring timely, impactful changes to the lives of every citizen.

Building on the success of the first edition in 2023, this second edition is expected to further contribute to shaping a brighter future for the country and its states.

The Union Home Minister further said that in the 2014 Global Innovation Index, India was ranked 91st.

“Thanks to the Prime Minister’s decisive and visionary policies, India has now risen to 38th place in the recently released 2025 Global Innovation Index, showcasing the remarkable potential of the country’s youth. By fostering this potential, the conclave is expected to play a pivotal role in placing India among the top 10 countries in the Global Innovation Index over the next three years,” he said.

He expressed confidence that the rich resources of knowledge in the Indian knowledge system, encompassing fields such as health, science, mathematics, and philosophy, will provide a strong foundation for new startups led by young people.

Recalling the Prime Minister’s words, Amit Shah said that while India faced millions of problems, it also boasts billions of problem solvers.

“Initiatives like this will accelerate innovation in the country and provide a platform for the creativity of young entrepreneurs. Consequently, the youth will move beyond profit-making to play a key role in realising the vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat. Before 2014, the presence of startups in India’s Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities was minimal; today, 37% of the country’s total startups originate from these cities,” he said.

Further, Shah asserted that 48 per cent of India’s total startups are founded by women.

He said that entrepreneurial women are always endowed with prosperity. In the North-East, around 900 women-led startups are actively contributing to the vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Shah stated that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Modi, since 2014, startups across the country have been receiving financial, infrastructural, policy, and banking support.

“To facilitate this, a Fund of Funds worth Rs 10 thousand crore has been created. To further promote startups, the maximum loan limit has been increased from Rs 10 crore to Rs 20 crore, along with exemptions in various taxes. In addition, the Gujarat government is also providing multifaceted support to startups, enabling every entrepreneur to establish their own unique venture,” Amit Shah said.

“Through Make in India and the PLI (Production-Linked Incentive) scheme in 14 key sectors, the government is supporting various projects with financial assistance worth crores of rupees. Under the Prime Minister’s leadership, global investors are investing in India through Make in India and PLI initiatives. To facilitate investors, over 3,400 laws in the country have been amended,” he added.

The Union Home Minister further added that under PM Modi’s leadership, GST has recently been simplified. “When the new GST law was first introduced nationwide, merging 16 separate taxes into a single system seemed like a distant dream. Initially, all states together contributed a GST collection of Rs 80,000 crore,” he said.

Today, as a result of the new GST framework, collections have risen to between Rs 80 thousand crore to Rs 2 lakh crore, bolstering the country’s economy. He said that taxes are meant not for exploitation but for the development of the nation.

Amit Shah further said that this GST reform has acted as a bridge between taxpayers and the government.

“When PM Modi’s government assumed office, tax exemptions were applicable up to Rs. 2.5 lakh. Today, even if a citizen’s income reaches Rs. 12 lakh, they are not liable to pay any tax. Whenever people have paid taxes honestly, the Prime Minister has ensured tax relief. Initiatives such as infrastructure support, Digital India, and GEM Trinity have significantly aided the growth of the startup sector. Under the BharatNet project, the Government of India has connected 2 lakh gram panchayats to the internet,” Shah said.

While addressing new startups and youth entrepreneurs at the Startup Conclave 2025, CM Bhupendra Patel stated that PM Modi’s vision of “Make in India, Made for the World” aims to transform India into a global manufacturing hub by leveraging the nation’s democracy, demography, and skilled workforce. Under the Prime Minister’s visionary leadership, India has now emerged as a rising beacon of hope in the global startup ecosystem.

Further, the CM stated that as a result of the Prime Minister’s vision, major initiatives such as Make in India, Digital India, and Atmanirbhar Bharat have been successful. These initiatives have given substantial momentum to various sectors, including industry, the economy, and startups.

The CM further said that under the Prime Minister’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat, the demand for Made in India products in the defence sector has been increasing globally. Weapons and subsystems manufactured in India were exported to 80 countries last year.

On this occasion, seven different MoUs were signed in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The NEP-2020 Dashboard was launched by the Union Home Minister, accompanied by other distinguished dignitaries.

Moreover, a coffee table book, the five-year implementation book of NEP-2020, and a compilation on the Indian Knowledge System were released. Awards were also presented to the winners of the Cyber Rakshak Natya Utsav, and cheques were distributed to investors who had invested in various startups. (ANI)

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