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I say from the ramparts of the Red Fort, ‘Start-up India, Stand-up India’—this is our new mantra. We want start-ups that create jobs, not just seek jobs.

Narendra Damodardas Modi

Speech during India's 69th Independence Day, Red Fort, Delhi, **2015** · Checked on 1 March 2026
I say from the ramparts of the Red Fort, ‘Start-up India, Stand-up India’—this is our new mantra. We want start-ups that create jobs, not just seek jobs.

Analysis

The phrase “Startup India, Stand‑up India” appears in the transcript of Prime Minister Modi’s Independence Day address on 15 August 2016, where he announced the Startup India programme. The official transcript and multiple news reports of the 2015 (69th) Independence Day speech contain no such wording; that speech focused on other themes such as a $5‑trillion economy and Swachh Bharat. Therefore the statement is incorrectly dated.

Background

India’s Independence Day speeches are delivered annually at the Red Fort. The Startup India initiative was launched in January 2016, and the Prime Minister highlighted it in his 2016 Independence Day address. The 2015 speech (69th) predates the programme and does not mention the slogan.

Verdict summary

The quote was spoken by Narendra Modi, but it was delivered during the 70th Independence Day speech in 2016, not the 69th in 2015.

Sources consulted

— Press Information Bureau, Transcript of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 70th Independence Day Speech, 15 August 2016 (https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1449250)
— The Hindu, “Modi’s 70th Independence Day speech: ‘Startup India, Stand up India’”, 16 August 2016 (https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/modis-70th-independence-day-speech-startup-india-stand-up-india/article9001236.ece)
— Press Information Bureau, Transcript of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 69th Independence Day Speech, 15 August 2015 (https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1243411)