While addressing the Indian community in the Netherlands, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has projected India as a fast-growing innovation and manufacturing hub, highlighting the country’s startup ecosystem, semiconductor push and digital public infrastructure as key pillars of economic growth.
Speaking at a community event in The Hague, Modi said India now has the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, with more than 200,000 startups and around 125 active unicorns, compared with fewer than 500 startups and four unicorns in 2014, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
“In 2025 alone, approximately 44,000 more new startups will be registered,” Modi said, adding that Indian startups were increasingly active in artificial intelligence, defence and space technologies.
The prime minister also underlined India’s growing semiconductor ambitions, saying work was underway on 12 semiconductor plants, with production having already started at two facilities.
“This means that now, chips will also be designed in India, made in India,” he said.
The remarks come as India seeks to position itself as an alternative manufacturing and technology base amid global supply-chain diversification efforts and geopolitical tensions affecting trade flows.
Modi said India and the Netherlands were working together on building “trusted, transparent, and future-ready” supply chains, while also deepening cooperation in green hydrogen, energy security and water management.
He added that the proposed trade agreement between India and the European Union would further strengthen economic ties between India and the Netherlands and create new opportunities for Indian businesses entering Europe.
“The Netherlands will become a natural gateway for Indian businesses to enter Europe,” Modi said, while describing the Indian diaspora as a “trusted bridge” between Indian ambitions and European standards.
The prime minister also used the speech to showcase the scale of India’s digital transformation and infrastructure expansion over the past decade.
He said India processes more than 20 billion Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions every month, accounting for more than half of global digital transactions. Modi also cited the country’s digital wallet ecosystem, DigiLocker document storage platform, DigiYatra travel system and digital health IDs as examples of India’s expanding digital public infrastructure.
India has also launched some of the world’s largest public programmes in financial inclusion, health insurance and unique digital identification, he said.
Modi further highlighted investments in transport and energy infrastructure, including expressways, metro rail, renewable energy and rail electrification. He said India had laid optical fibre equivalent to 11 times the distance between Earth and the Moon in recent years and had become the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer after once relying heavily on imports.
Addressing global economic uncertainty, Modi said the world was facing overlapping crises, including the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic, wars and energy disruptions.
“If these conditions aren’t rapidly reversed, the achievements of the past decades will be undone,” he said.
He argued that resilient supply chains and stronger international partnerships would become increasingly important in the coming decade.
The speech also carried political significance, with Modi noting that May 16 marked 12 years since the 2014 general election results that brought his Bharatiya Janata Party to power with a parliamentary majority.
Modi said the support of Indian voters had enabled continuity in governance and policy execution, helping India pursue large-scale economic and technological ambitions.
He also referred to India’s successful hosting of the G20 Summit and an international AI summit, as well as achievements in space and nuclear technology, including progress on fast breeder reactor development.
During the visit, Modi said he would hold discussions with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof and meet the Dutch king and queen.
The prime minister concluded by urging the Indian diaspora in the Netherlands to deepen economic engagement with India and participate in the country’s long-term development journey. |
