Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday tried to strike a chord with millions of poor across the country and asked banks to help young people from dalit and tribal families help start up small business.

Invoking dalit icon B R Ambedkar on his 125th birth anniversary, the prime minister asked India’s  existing125 bank branches to back at least one dalit or tribal financially in their area.

On the 69th Independence Day, Modi also gave the slogan of ‘Start Up India, Stand Up India’ to promote bank financing for start up businesses.

Modi said they should also encourage at least one woman entrepreneur.
“In a country like India, if you look at the pyramid of development, the bottom section of lower castes, the deprived, the exploited, is the broadest. If that foundation is made strong, the pyramid will be unshakable, no matter how strong the headwinds,” Modi said exhorting banks to do more on financial inclusion.

The Start Up India, Stand Up India initiative would give a new dimension to entrepreneurship and help in setting up a network of small businesses in the country.