PM Modi's 76th birthday: 17 moves powering India's journey from Startup India to Build India

On his 76th birthday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has been answering key questions about India's future with capital, compute and missions. Over the past decade, the conversation shifted from entrepreneurship to building deeper capabilities like AI, chips, biotech and quantum technologies.

Key moves include a Rs 1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation Fund to bring low-cost capital to hard areas like AI and quantum computing. Another Rs 10,000 crore Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 prioritises deeptech and tech-driven manufacturing. Startup debt became easier with a doubled credit guarantee for startups. Public capital backed private money for startups, with more than Rs 7,000 crore invested in over 1,420 startups.

AI compute became national infrastructure with subsidized access to over 38,000 GPUs. India is now focusing on building indigenous foundation models on India-specific data. Semiconductors received a major boost with a Rs 1.27 lakh crore mission to reduce foreign imports. Quantum computing received Rs 6,003.65 crore over eight years to move from research to companies. Over 55,200 startups were recognized in FY26, the highest ever, with more women entrepreneurs entering the formal startup ecosystem.