New Delhi, May 21 (IANS): Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts in promoting the startup sector in India, G20 Sherpa and former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has said if such an atmosphere had existed during his time, "I would never have sat for the IAS exam and would have become a startup entrepreneur instead".

Speaking to IANS at the 'Vishesh Sampark Abhiyan' event in the national capital, Kant said the biggest thing the PM Modi government did in the last decade is that it relaxed rules and regulations for startups so they could grow.

"Startup India was launched by PM Modi on January 16, 2016. Since then, India has seen an entrepreneurial boom with over 1,30,000 startups, more than 115 unicorns, and a $350 billion valuation," he said.

The G20 Sherpa further mentioned that the change that has occurred in the last decade could have taken about 50 years to achieve, but "due to the efforts of the present government, it has become possible in the last 10 years".

In a post on X, Kant wrote that it's" inspiring to see young minds at #ViksitBharat speak of an India filled with opportunity".

"Under PM @narendramodi's leadership, India's last decade has been one of tremendous tech innovation, incubation, and transformation," he added.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that after a robust decade of innovation and digital growth, the next 10 years will see India on the global map for emerging technologies, be it artificial intelligence (AI) or high-performance computing.