Piyush Goyal Hails Startups on Make in India's 12th Year
Synopsis
On Make in India's 12th anniversary, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal declared Indian startups are on a 'generational run', linking the milestone to twelve years of the flagship manufacturing and investment promotion programme launched in September 2014.
Key Takeaways
Make in India marks its 12th anniversary on 25 September 2026 , having been launched by the government in September 2014 .
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal described Indian startups as being on a 'generational run' directly attributing it to the programme.
Make in India has run alongside Startup India (2016) and production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes as interlocking pillars of India's post-2014 economic strategy.
The government has consistently linked the programme to rising FDI inflows , an expanding unicorn count, and improved ease-of-doing-business rankings.
Analysts expect the anniversary messaging to precede updates to Startup India 2.0 guidelines and the next PLI scheme review cycle.
Twelve years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unfurled the Make in India banner in September 2014, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal declared on Friday, 25 September 2026 that Indian startups are riding a 'generational run' — a pointed nod to the campaign that reshaped the country's industrial and entrepreneurial ambitions.
A decade-plus of Make in India — what the anniversary marks
Make in India was conceived as more than a manufacturing slogan. Launched on 25 September 2014, it set out to raise the share of manufacturing in India's GDP, attract foreign direct investment, and signal to global capital that India was open for business. Over the twelve years since, the programme has run alongside complementary pillars — Startup India, launched in 2016, and a broad suite of production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes — creating an interlocking policy architecture that successive administrations have credited with India's expanding unicorn count and improved ease-of-doing-business rankings.
Goyal's post threads the needle between two narratives the government has consistently promoted: that large-scale manufacturing and new-age entrepreneurship are not competing ambitions but mutually reinforcing ones. 'Indian start-ups are on a generational run!' he wrote, attributing the momentum directly to #12YearsOfMakeInIndia.
Startups as the centrepiece of Make in India's legacy claim
The linkage between Make in India and startup growth has been a recurring theme in government messaging. Reduced compliance burdens, liberalised FDI norms, and the PLI push for domestic manufacturing of electronics, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors have all been cited as conditions that made it easier for startups to build, scale and attract capital. The minister's framing — 'generational run' — suggests a once-in-a-generation inflection, though independent verification of specific 2026 performance metrics was not available at the time of publication.
As Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha and one of the BJP's most senior economic voices, Goyal's anniversary post carries weight beyond routine commemoration. It arrives at a moment when the government is expected to signal direction on possible Startup India 2.0 updates and the next cycle of PLI scheme revisions — making the celebratory tone a likely precursor to a policy announcement season.
The question the next quarterly data release will answer: does the startup momentum hold the pace the minister is celebrating — or does the 'generational run' still have more ground to cover?
Point of View
The post doubles as a priming signal: expect announcements on Startup India 2.0 or PLI expansion to follow soon. Whether the startup ecosystem's underlying metrics fully justify the superlative framing will be tested by the next set of DPIIT and RBI data releases.
NationPress
25 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Make in India launched?
Make in India was launched on 25 September 2014 by the Government of India to promote domestic manufacturing, attract foreign investment, and improve the ease of doing business.
What did Piyush Goyal say about Make in India's 12th anniversary?
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal posted on X that 'Indian start-ups are on a generational run', crediting the momentum to 12 years of Make in India .
What is the connection between Make in India and Indian startups?
The government has argued that Make in India — alongside Startup India (2016) and PLI schemes — reduced compliance burdens, liberalised FDI norms, and created conditions for startups to scale and attract capital.
What are PLI schemes and how do they relate to Make in India?
Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes offer financial incentives to manufacturers in sectors such as electronics, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors. They complement Make in India by encouraging domestic production and have been linked to startup and manufacturing ecosystem growth.
What policy updates might follow Make in India's 12th anniversary?
Analysts and watchers expect possible updates to Startup India 2.0 guidelines and revised PLI scheme parameters in the upcoming budget cycle, with the anniversary messaging seen as a likely precursor to such announcements.
