New Delhi: On Friday, January 16, the country will mark National Startup Day, celebrating a landmark decade for startups not just as economic engines but as enduring symbols of India’s innovation-led growth story.
Aligned with India’s march towards a Viksit Bharat by 2047, the movement has had a transformative impact on India’s entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem.
Startups have become engines of economic transformation by driving technological innovation and productivity, creating large-scale employment opportunities, enhancing financial inclusion and digital access, and promoting grassroots entrepreneurship.
The initiative, led by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has evolved from a policy-focussed framework into a comprehensive, multi-dimensional platform supporting startups at every stage from ideation to scaling operations.
This progress is reflected in India’s high-value startup ecosystem, which has expanded from just four privately-held companies valued above $1 billion in 2014 to over 120 such firms today, with a combined valuation exceeding $350 billion.
Since its January 16, 2016 launch, the Startup India initiative has transformed from a policy framework into one of the world’s largest and most diverse entrepreneurial ecosystems.
With over two lakh DPIIT-recognised startups as of December 2025, India now stands firmly among the top global hubs for innovation, job creation, and inclusive growth.
Women-led ventures are a striking feature of this landscape, where as of December 2025, 45 per cent of recognised startups have at least one female director or partner.
Additionally, startups are no longer confined to metros, with nearly half originating from Tier-II and Tier-III cities, signalling the democratisation of entrepreneurship.
Meanwhile, several government-backed programmes have underpinned this growth. With a Rs 10,000 crore corpus managed by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) has supported over 140 Alternative Investment Funds, which in turn invested more than Rs 25,500 crore in over 1,370 startups.
Also, Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) enabled collateral-free loans worth Rs. 800 crore across more than 330 startups.
Further, with Rs. 945 crore allocated to over 215 incubators, a Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) supports proof-of-concept, prototyping, and market entry.
Then there is Startup India Hub, a digital platform connecting entrepreneurs with investors, mentors, and incubators.
States’ Startup Ranking Framework (SRF) also encourages competitive federalism by ranking states and union territories on startup-friendly policies.
The Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience and Growth (MAARG) Mentorship Portal is a one stop platform to facilitate mentorship for startups, while the Investor Connect Portal links startups with venture capital funds, streamlining fundraising.
Beyond Startup India, sector-specific initiatives have reinforced the ecosystem, including Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), which has established over 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs across 733 districts, engaging 1.1 crore students in projects spanning AI, robotics, and IoT with Rs 2,750 crore allocated till 2028.
AIM 2.0 now focusses on vernacular innovation centres, frontier programmes for Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast, and deep-tech commercialisation.
Additionally, a Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)-led deep-tech platform, GENESIS, was launched in 2022 to scale 1,600 startups in Tier-II/III cities with Rs. 490 crore funding.
Meanwhile, MeitY Startup Hub (MSH) is providing support to over 6,148 startups, 517 incubators, and 329 labs nationwide.
There is also the Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE) 2.0 Scheme that catalyses Information and Communication Technology-driven entrepreneurship in areas like healthcare, agriculture, and clean tech.
Then there is the National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) from Department of Science and Technology that already has generated 1.3 lakh jobs, supported over 12,000 startups, and backed more than 175 incubators.
Rural-focussed schemes like Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme, A Scheme for Promotion of Innovation, Rural Industries, and Entrepreneurship and The Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme, are also promoting micro-enterprises, grassroots innovation, and self-employment.
Indian startups are increasingly collaborating with corporates and multinationals, facilitating technology transfer and global market integration. As India advances towards a projected $7.3 trillion economy by 2030, startups are expected to remain central to its development trajectory. The government’s focus is shifting from rapid expansion to sustainable scale and deeper integration with the real economy.
(IANS)
