Startup India completes a decade as policy push fuels global innovation growth

On Friday, January 16, India will celebrate National Startup Day, marking a decade of the Startup India initiative. Over the last ten years, startups have grown beyond small businesses to become a strong force behind India’s innovation-led growth. As the country moves toward the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047, startups are playing a key role in jobs, technology, and inclusive development.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has been the guiding force behind Startup India, transforming from a policy concept to a comprehensive support network for startups in India, IANS reported.

What is National Startup Day?

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National Startup Day marks the Startup India program on January 16, 2016. Since that time, the initiative has been very supportive of startups in each phase of their life cycle— from generating the first idea to scaling the business.

India has turned out to be one of the largest startup hubs in the world, and that happened over just a decade. From only four unicorns in 2014, India now has more than 120 privately-owned startups that have been valued at above $1 billion, and their total valuation is more than $350 billion altogether.

The very powerful growth of startups in the Indian market seems to have positively affected the areas of innovation, productivity, employment and rural as well as urban areas’ digital and financial access.

How big is India’s startup ecosystem today?

As of December 2025, India has over two lakh DPIIT-recognised startups, placing it among the top global centres for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Metro cities are not the only places for startups anymore. Approximately 50 per cent of startups are from Tier-II and Tier-III cities, which is a clear indication that the trend of entrepreneurship is moving to the Indian hinterland. The change has enabled smaller towns and areas to get a chance to grab opportunities.

Women-led businesses are also growing strongly. About 45 per cent of recognised startups have at least one woman director or partner, making India’s startup ecosystem more inclusive than ever.

What government schemes are supporting startups?

Several government-backed programmes have played a major role in startup growth.

The Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), with a Rs 10,000 crore corpus managed by SIDBI, has supported over 140 Alternative Investment Funds, which invested Rs 25,500 crore in more than 1,370 startups.

The Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) has made it possible to grant collateral-free loans amounting to Rs 800 crore to more than 330 startups.

In the same vein, the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) has allotted Rs 945 crore to over 215 incubators to promote early-stage startups through testing and market entry.

Digital tools such as Startup India Hub, MAARG Mentorship Portal, and Investor Connect Portal facilitate the connecting of startups with mentors, investors, and incubators.

How are innovation and deep-tech startups being promoted?

Beyond Startup India, sector-focused programmes are strengthening innovation.

The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) has accomplished the feat of establishing more than 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs functioning within the 733 districts. A total of 1.1 crore students have been involved in the learning and practising of AI, robotics, IoT, etc. It has been decided to allocate a total of Rs 2,750 crore for the period up to 2028.

AIM 2.0 has basically turned its focus towards the adoption of deep-tech, local language innovations, and the development of the Northeast region alongside Jammu & Kashmir.

The MEITY-led GENESIS program that was launched in 2022 intends to build up 1,600 startups in Tier-II and Tier-III cities by giving out Rs 490 crore as the main funding support. In the meantime, the MeitY Startup Hub has been assisting over 6,148 startups across the country.

What role will startups play in India’s future growth?

Programmes like NIDHI have assisted more than 12,000 startups so far and created 1.3 lakh jobs, whereas rural initiatives have been promoting local entrepreneurs and self-employment.

Startups are going to be major growth drivers as India reaches a $7.3 trillion economy by 2030. The government is now shifting its attention from rapid growth to sustainable scale and deeper integration with the real economy, impacting the long-term.

With inputs from agencies.