India holds world’s highest rate of recognising start-ups per day

Currently, there are 75,000 start-ups in the country, which coincides with the 75th year of independence.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has recognized more than 75,000 startups- a milestone which coincides with 75th year of independence. As India celebrates Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Indian startup ecosystem continues to be fuelled by innovation, enthusiasm, and entrepreneurial spirit.

During the Independence Day speech from the Red Fort on 15th August 2015, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had envisioned a new India which taps on the entrepreneurial potential of its people. On 16th January of the following year, the date which has now been declared as the National Startup Day, a program was initiated to lay out an action plan to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and startups in the country. 6 years hence, the action plan has successfully guided into making India the 3rd largest ecosystem. It is also interesting to note that, while the initial ten thousand startups were recognized in 808 days, the latest ten thousand were achieved in only 156 days. With more than 80 Startups getting recognized per day- highest rate in the world, the future of the startup culture is very promising and encouraging.

Startup India program which was primarily setup to provide an enabling environment for the startups, has today evolved into the launchpad for them. From providing funding to tax incentives, from support on intellectual property rights to eased public procurement, from enabling regulatory reforms to access to international fests and events, Startup India program has become synonymous with sustainable economic growth.

Out of the total recognized startups, around 12% cater to IT services, 9% to Healthcare and Life Sciences, 7% to education, 5% to professional and commercial services and 5% to agriculture. An impressive, 7.46 lakh jobs have been created by the Indian startup ecosystem, so far, which has been a 110% yearly increase over the last 6 years. The fact that about 49% of our startups are from Tier II & Tier III today is a validation of the tremendous potential of our country’s youth.

This further encourages the future start-up culture that is promising and encouraging for budding entrepreneurs. The Indian start-up ecosystem is promising not just for entrepreneurs but also for job seekers too.

Today it has evolved into the launch pad for all the budding entrepreneurs and innovators across the nation. It has helped start-ups by providing funds, tax incentives, support for intellectual property rights, an eased public procurement, enabling regulatory reforms, access to international fests and events, and much more.

A start-up India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), is being implemented by the Indian government with effect from 1 April 2021, which provides financial assistance to eligible Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) recognised start-ups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialisation. This enables the start-ups to graduate to a level where they will be able to raise investments from angel investors or venture capitalists or seek loans from commercial banks or financial institutions. SISFS is disbursed to eligible start-ups through eligible incubators across India.

Besides, India's National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Discoveries (NIDHI), an umbrella initiative started by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), aims to foster knowledge-based and technology-driven innovations into profitable enterprises.

Besides through the Indian government's Promoting and Accelerating Young and Aspiring Innovators and start-ups (PRAYAS) programme, Entrepreneurs-In-Residence (EIR) provides money-related help for turning ideas into prototypes and early-stage seed support to incubated enterprises. This establishes Centers of Excellence (CoE) in incubation and provides mentorship and help in investment readiness through Accelerators.