Start-up India action plan on Jan 16: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said a complete action plan for the implementation of ‘Start-up India, Stand-up India’ scheme will be unveiled on January 16.

The scheme aims at promoting entrepreneurship in the country by supporting incubation of innovative and sustainable business ideas to primarily enable youth to launch start-up companies and create job opportunities.

“I mooted ‘Start-up India, Stand-up India’ project while addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15. We will launch a complete action plan on January 16. How will it be done? What will be done? Why it will be done? All these things will be explained before the nation,” Modi said during his monthly radio address, ‘Mann Ki Baat’.

Modi said the programme would come as a “great opportunity” to the youth who have innovative ideas and need a platform for incubation of their projects. “Go ahead with your innovative ideas. You will get market,” he said, encouraging the youth to take benefit of the scheme once it is rolled.

The prime minister also appealed to the state governments to play an active role in taking the upcoming scheme to every nook and corner of the country, saying there was no dearth of “brilliant youth” in India.

During his 20-minute address, Modi outlined the broad structure of the scheme but kept the finer details for their presentation for the day the programme is scheduled to be launched.

“There is a fixed idea that ‘Start-up India, Stand-up India programme is limited to supporting innovative ideas of those associated with the digital world or IT profession only. But this is not true. If there is someone who has an innovative idea that could help a poor labourer easily realise his wages, I would consider this also a start-up. I will ask banks to help such youth.” he said.

“Divyang”, not “Viklang”
The PM, who also suggested to replace the use of term “Viklang” (physically challenged people) with “Divyang” (people with extraordinary capabilities) during his radio talk, listed programmes and initiatives launched by his government so far, saying they had to be kept alive to help people avail their benefits.

On the term “Divyang”,  Modi said most of the times it has been seen that such people have capabilities which even normal people do not have.

With the government gearing up to hold a five-day national youth festival in Chhattisgarh to mark the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda on January 12,  Modi invited the people to send their suggestions on organising the programme.

He suggested people to download the “Narendra Modi App” and share their views and suggestions directly with him through the android-based application that he launched in June. “The festival is being organised since 1995. Indian Youth on Development Skill and Harmony is the theme for the youth festival this year. Send your suggestions directly to me at Narendra Modi App. I want to understand want you want,” he said.