Mann Ki Baat 2026: PM Modi’s 2016 throwback spotlights India’s start-up leap

PRime government minister Narendra Modi pronounced the number one horace mann Ki Baat of 2026 on dominicus with a throwback to 2016, tapping into a popular social media trend to recall the launch of Start-up India and highlight the transformation of India’s start-up ecosystem over the past decade.Referring to posts where people are reliving memories from 2016, Modi said he too wanted to share a memory from January that year, when the government launched an “ambitious journey” that many did not fully understand at the time — Start-up India. Today, Modi said, India has become the world’s third-largest start-up ecosystem, with young entrepreneurs working in sectors that were “unimaginable even 10 years ago”, including AI, space, nuclear energy, semiconductors, mobility, green hydrogen and biotechnology.He saluted young founders who stepped out of their comfort zones and said the world is now watching India’s economic rise. With that, the Prime Minister made a strong pitch for quality in manufacturing and industry. “The era of ‘it just happens, it works somehow’ is over,” he said, urging companies to make “quality, quality and only quality” their mantra. Repeating his call for ‘Zero Defect, Zero Effect’ from his Republic Day address last year, Modi said Indian products, from textiles to electronics to packaging, should become synonymous with top quality as the country moves towards a ‘Viksit Bharat’.Modi also mentioned the India AI Impact Summit, which will be held in New Delhi from February 15-20, bringing heads of state, global CEOs and experts to India to discuss the country’s progress in artificial intelligence.During the address delivered on the eve of Republic Day, Modi paid tribute to the Constitution and its founding fathers, and highlighted January 25 as National Voters’ Day. Calling the voter “the soul of democracy”, he urged young Indians to register as soon as they turn 18 and suggested that first-time voters should be celebrated by families and neighbourhoods, “just like birthdays”.He thanked grassroots election workers and said voting is both a constitutional duty and a way to strengthen democracy.Rivers, reservoirs and public participationAbout Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, Modi mentioned about locals reviving the Tamsa river by clearing silt and garbage and planting trees along its banks. In drought-hit Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, he said more than 10 reservoirs have been revived under the Ananta Neeru Sanrakshanam project, over 7,000 trees planted, and the local ecosystem restored. “These examples show the power of public participation,” he said.The PM also spoke about a new trend among young Indians called “bhajan clubbing” where devotional singing is performed in concert-like settings. He said while the stage and music may be modern, the dignity and purity of bhajans are being preserved, and the core spirit of devotion remains unchanged.The Prime Minister praised the Indian diaspora in Malaysia, noting that there are over 500 Tamil schools there and growing focus on other Indian languages. He also referred to the UAE declaring 2026 as the “Year of the Family”, linking it to India’s strong family system. Modi went on to laud youth groups in Arunachal Pradesh who have cleaned over 11 lakh kilograms of garbage across several towns, along with similar efforts in Assam, Bengaluru and Chennai.Modi praised individuals like Benoy Das of Cooch Behar, who has planted thousands of trees, and a forest guard from Panna who documented over 125 medicinal plants. He said the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign has crossed 200 crore trees planted nationwide.Returning to his pitch for millets or Shree Anna, Modi said public interest remains strong even three years after the International Year of Millets was announced, as he highlighted women farmers in Tamil Nadu running a millet processing unit, farmers in Rajasthan making pearl millet laddus, and temples using millets in prasad. Millets, he said, raise farmer incomes and improve public health.