India needs entrepreneurs who aspire to create values: Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday urged the youth to overcome hesitation and take risks, as they are well-equipped to do so. Speaking at the Special Plenary Session of YiFi 2026, a two-day national financial entrepreneurship summit organised by CII’s Young Indians (Yi) in Madurai, she said: “If you don’t move now, you are going to drown, but if you move and move with some kind of guidance, you’ll make the best out of the changing times.”

“India is the fastest-growing major economy purely because of entrepreneurs and the citizens. We are projected to contribute one-sixth of the global growth over the coming years. With the bright entrepreneurs it can be one-fourth. We can do it,” she said. “We have the largest pool of the youngest workforce anywhere in the world. More than 2.4 lakh DPIIT-recognised start-ups have generated over 23 lakh jobs in the country, and it is the third largest ecosystem for start-ups. We have 2,100 global capability centres and now even going to Tier I and Tier II cities, beyond the metros. Our digital public infrastructure has become an international benchmark,” she said.

Ms. Sitharaman said that every month, over 20 billion UPI transactions were being processed. “New opportunities are coming for ambitious and entrepreneurial Indians, and the barriers that once separated talent from opportunity are steadily diminishing. Governments can create enabling conditions, investors can provide capital, and universities can nurture talent. But entrepreneurs are the ones who convert possibilities into prosperity. India is the place to be for doing business. It has a steady and responsive government, a steady policy, and certainty in taxation,” she said.

There is unprecedented investment in roads, railways, ports, airports, logistics, and digital connectivity, and this has reduced distances, improved competitiveness, and connected enterprises to national and global markets, she said, adding the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme has helped the MSMEs.

Ms. Sitharaman said technology had made markets accessible, capital was willing to flow freely across borders where good ideas existed and knowledge was more widely available now. “Fear of failure is not something that you can justify. The temptation to think only in terms of valuation instead of value creation will have to be overcome. India needs entrepreneurs who aspire to continue creating values. Persistent effort is required to bring prosperity,” she said, adding that “Madurai is a fountainhead for a lot of new ideas and organisations”.

Chandrajit Banerjee, director-general, CII; P. Ravichandran, chairman, CII-Southern Region; Arun Rathod, national chairman, Yi; and Anuj Agarwal, national vice-chairman, Yi, were among those present.

CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee, Chairman CII – Southern Region P. Ravichandran, National Chairman Yi Arun Rathod, National Vice Chairman Yi Anuj Agarwal and others were present.