Indore, May 13 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the number of start-ups in the country has grown to 70,000 from a mere 300 to 400 in 2014, and start-ups are turning into unicorns very quickly.He was speaking after launching the Madhya Pradesh government"s `Start-up Policy 2022" and a start-up portal through video link in the presence of young entrepreneurs here.“You must remember that in 2014, when my government came to power, there were 300-400 start-ups in the country.....But in eight years" time, the situation has totally changed and now there are 70,000 recognised start-ups in the country,” Modi said.India has the world"s third largest ecosystem in this area and in just eight to ten days a start-up takes the shape of a unicorn, he said.Starting from zero, a start-up turns into a unicorn with a capital of nearly Rs 7,000 crore in such a short span of time, and these days on average a youth is making a new unicorn in the country in eight to ten days, he said.“This reflects the strength of the country"s youth and (presents) a new example of their willpower,” he said.There was also a great deal of diversity in start-ups in the country and they are not confined to just one state or two or four metro cities, but they are spread over many states and smaller towns, the prime minister said.As per a rough estimate, these start-ups are associated with more than 50 different industries in the country, Modi said.They are present in every state and more than 650 districts, and more than 50 per cent of start-ups are situated in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, he pointed out.Under the new policy of the Madhya Pradesh government, subsidies will be paid to start-ups for rent as well as for salaries of employees.Modi also interacted with a few entrepreneurs on this occasion to learn about their start-ups and advised them on how they can benefit people. PTI MAS HWP LAL KRK KRK