Addressing the nation on the 77th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the policies of the government are providing support to the youth of the country and their strength has helped India become the third-largest start-up ecosystem in the world. 

He said the country's exports are growing and experts world over believe India's economy would continue its growth trajectory. "I believe in youth power, youth power is my strength. Our policies are giving more power to youth strength. The youth of the world are getting amazed by seeing the strength of Indian youth," he said from the ramparts of the Red Fort. Their strength has helped India become "the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world," Modi added. 

The government has recognised as many as 98,119 entities as start-ups as on April 30 this year. These startups are eligible for availing incentives, including tax benefits under the Startup India scheme. 

Schemes like Fund of Funds for Start-ups, Start-up India Seed Fund Scheme, and Credit Guarantee Scheme support these entities at various stages of their business cycle. 

The government, with an intent to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and start-ups in the country, launched the Start-up India initiative on January 16, 2016. 

On exports, he said that the country has not only achieved its export targets before time but also exceeded that. "We had talked about exports of USD 500 billion...it has increased to more than USD 500 billion," he said. The country's goods and services exports in 2022-23 crossed USD 776 billion.