Modi Government Advances Youth Skills & Women's Entrepreneurship

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Friday, 5 June 2026

India has witnessed substantial progress over the past 12 years under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, with development extending beyond infrastructure and economic growth to include youth empowerment, women-led entrepreneurship, skill development, and inclusive opportunities for underserved communities. Through a range of targeted initiatives, the government has sought to create an ecosystem that encourages innovation, entrepreneurship, and grassroots participation in the country’s growth story.

A major focus has been on empowering young Indians to become job creators, not just job seekers. The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) supported this forward, by delivering skill training to more than 1.4 crore youth all over the country. The program has helped participants develop capabilities, fast-growing domains like Artificial Intelligence (AI), coding, robotics, and other future-ready skill sets, which make them handle the needs of a digital economy that keeps shifting.

India’s startup ecosystem has also expanded considerably through the Startup India initiative. Since its launch, the number of recognised startups has increased from around 500 in 2016 to more than 2 lakh, making India the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem. This growth has extended beyond major cities, encouraging entrepreneurial activity in rural and semi-urban regions as well.

Entrepreneur Bharat Sethi talked about the impact, saying, “I think the rapid growth of startups in India has been strongly supported by the Startup India mission. As a young entrepreneur, I had opportunities to build companies abroad, but I chose to stay, and build my business in India.”

Key Highlights

• Startup ecosystem expands rapidly across urban and rural India.
• Skill programs train youth in future-ready digital technologies.
• Women-led initiatives boost entrepreneurship and financial independence.

Women empowerment remains central pillars in India’s development strategy. More than 10 crore women are currently linked with Self-Help Groups, or SHGs, taking part in self-employment and small scale business work. The Lakhpati Didi program has helped over 3 crore women reach financial independence, and there are plans to expand it so 6 crore women can benefit in the coming years. 

The Namo Drone Didi scheme is opening new livelihood paths for rural women. It trains them to handle agricultural drones for crop spraying, tracking farm conditions, and other farming tasks, so technology gets blended into rural entrepreneurship in a practical way.

The government also has been prioritising support for tribal communities and other underprivileged groups. Under the Stand-Up India scheme, loans amounting to more than Rs 62,000 crore have been approved for over 2 lakh entrepreneurs belonging to Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and women, this is helping nudge entrepreneurship at the grassroots level.

In the education space, above 499 Eklavya Model Residential Schools are extending free residential plus digital education to more than 1.5 lakh tribal students, which in turn improves learning access and the right chances in remote regions.

At the same time, crucial infrastructure and welfare services, like roads, housing electricity, water supply and educational amenities, are moving into villages and tribal areas at a faster pace. Together, these efforts are showing a development pattern that measures progress more and more through empowerment, inclusion, and opportunities for every section of society along with overall economic growth.