2014 - 2024: How India Changed in the last 10 years?

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00:00 - Intro 02:00 - Electrification 04:05 - Data Powerhouse 06:00 - Rise of Digital Payments 07:43 - Rise in Startups and Unicorns 09:11 - Rise in Funding 10:49 - Rise in Government Support 11:58 - Rise of Space Sector 13:41 - Outro In a recent startup event, Indian Minister Piyush Goyal delivered a blunt speech urging Indian startups to think beyond basic services like food delivery and aspire to compete globally in innovation‑heavy sectors such as AI, semiconductors, and robotics. His remarks sparked national debate, as India continues to lag behind China in technological innovation. However, this comparison may be unfair given the vastly different development models: China’s top‑down governance contrasts sharply with India’s grassroots, bottom‑up approach. While China took an aggressive stance on tech development from the 1990s, India spent much of its recent history fulfilling basic infrastructure needs. One of the most critical transformations in the past decade has been electrification. In 2014, 20% of India’s population lacked access to electricity. Government schemes like the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana and Saubhagya Scheme led to near‑universal electrification, boosting productivity in rural areas and reducing the gap between urban and rural infrastructure. Another game‑changer has been internet accessibility. From a mere 250 million users in 2014 and sluggish speeds, India now boasts 971 million users and some of the cheapest and fastest mobile data in the world. This transformation has fueled digital inclusion and economic participation across demographics. Digital payments have also revolutionized daily transactions. The launch of Jan Dhan Yojana and UPI led to an explosion in financial inclusion. By 2024, India conducted 49% of the world’s real‑time transactions, with digital payments now integral to even small‑scale vendors. This public infrastructure model enabled instant, seamless transactions, unlike the private‑led systems in other nations. These digital foundations laid the groundwork for a startup boom. From just 350 startups in 2014, India now has over 160,000, with significant growth even in tier 2 and 3 cities. The number of unicorns has surged to 118, with companies like Zepto and ideaForge showcasing global impact. Unlike earlier, Indian startups now serve Indian consumers, debunking the myth that Indians won’t pay for digital services. Startup funding has also surged. Once considered a peripheral market by global VCs, India now sees monthly funding amounts that surpass the annual figures of a decade ago. Dedicated India funds by top VCs and government‑led initiatives like the ₹10,000 crore Fund of Funds for Startups have played a pivotal role. A new wave of angel investors — successful entrepreneurs reinvesting in the ecosystem — has added further momentum. The Indian government’s proactive stance has shifted societal perceptions about entrepreneurship. With the launch of the Startup India initiative in 2016, the government introduced benefits like tax holidays and patent fast‑tracking. India’s space sector exemplifies this transformation. ISRO, once underfunded and little known, achieved global acclaim with missions like Mangalyaan and the moon landing near the south pole. India is now planning its first manned mission (Gaganyaan) and a national space station by 2035. In summary, while Indian startups face a steep road ahead in competing globally in innovation, the last decade has witnessed foundational progress in infrastructure, digital access, financial inclusion, and entrepreneurial momentum. A billion Indians are now part of this growth journey, making the next decade critical for India’s global emergence.