Start up India Stand up India

Now there is a sharp focus on what Narendra Modi is not doing, and this is good for the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers. But the intolerant secularists are trying their best to create an anti-Modi atmosphere and are writing reams of papers in the media. In democracy, it is always good to play a cogent role while in opposition, and not to create always a negative environment to defame the PM or the nation. Whenever Modi does something, some intolerant Indians leave no opportunity to give him a bad name. This week, I met one senior officer of our Railway Ministry, who is also a technical person and is involved in policy decisions. He told me that in their review meetings through video conferencing, even if the Prime Minister is not technically aware of the subject of discussion, he always points out where to act. He further told me that he along with many senior officials of the government is very careful and sincere about their work as the PM is very “sharp” and knows how to get the work done. So, one should hope things are moving towards the right track, as far as functioning of the new initiatives and schemes is concerned. I was witness to the Start-up India programme, launched last week at Vigyan Bhawan. Really, for the first time, I marked that Vigyan Bhawan was replete with vibrant energy in the presence of young business majors from India and Silicon Valley. Rightly, the PM told the young minds that in Start-up India, the government should work less and the young minds should work more. The way the seven secretaries of the government were attentive in replying the queries of the young entrepreneurs shows the seriousness of the government to “create the creators”.

The scheme aims to push for entrepreneurship in the country by providing enabling environment for the entrepreneurs. There is a high tide of hope for change in India. In the elections, across India’s immense diversity, 1.25 billion people spoke unequivocally for political stability, good governance and rapid development. We have a government with a majority in the Lok Sabha for the first time in 30 years. A young nation with 800 million people under age 35, India is brimming with optimism and confidence. The young people’s energy, enthusiasm and enterprise are India’s greatest strength. Unleashing those attributes is the government’s biggest mission. A nation’s past and present determine its future. India, one of the oldest civilisations on the earth, has just become the buzzword across the globe once again. Ages ago, India was the famed land of riches, a paradise for explorers. It drew bounty hunters from afar. Those who came carried back tales of the riches, both material and immaterial. It attracted conquerors and scholars alike; some came for the wealth, others for the immense wisdom. Besides the still visible past glories of art and architecture and the wonderful ancient literature, which we are justly proud of, the Indian past includes another type of glory most tantalising to the Indians of today–prolonged material prosperity. For well over a millennium and a half, the Indian subcontinent was the richest and happiest place in the world. Not only did we have vast treasures of knowledge and developments, but ancient India also had great wealth, along with good climate and great fertility. The deep levels of knowledge and development was another of her greatest assets. For this reason, the ambition of all conquerors was to possess India, and we remained under foreign yoke for ages. This is all going to change. There is going to be a second coming. The India magic, in the last twenty months, since the NDA government is in place, has spread over all the continents of the world once again. The world waits with bated breath. Analysts are projecting India as the next superpower by 2035. India will be the source of human capital in the future, with its robust economic growth and fast growing IT industry.

In May 2014, as the new stable government took oath in Delhi, there was a wave of optimism and excitement that pursed through Indian veins. Of the numerous announcements made by the new government, the one that generated the most news is Modi’s “Start-up India” campaign. The Prime Minister is very keen to turn India into an entrepreneurship hub and announced a grand initiative to that end titled “Start-up India”. The elimination of archaic unnecessary laws and regulations, making bureaucratic processes easier and shorter, and ensuring that governance is more transparent, responsive and accountable are welcome initiatives. India, with its epic wealth of diversity, inveterate resilience and amazing lineage of overcoming struggles, can soon be witnessing a plethora of young business majors. But to be able to do that, it would need to have common denominators like technology, firmly under its belt. To make his dream a reality, Modi has assured the young entrepreneurs that aggressive reforms are high on his agenda. “Start-up India” is not a fantasy; it is not something that will happen in the next few years, it’s happening right now. The launch of “Start-up India” campaign is as much about the new initiative as about the man behind it. If implemented properly, it will put the country on the track of growth.

Deepak Kumar Rath