The various Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes active in India have resulted in actual investment of over ₹1.88 lakh crore as of June 2025, the ministry said. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The various Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes active in India have resulted in actual investment of over ₹1.88 lakh crore as of June 2025, the ministry said. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

New Delhi:

The number of startups in India has increased to more than 1.4 lakh, highlighted Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Jitin Prasada, in Rajya Sabha.

According to a written response by the minister in the house on Friday, the number of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) recognized startups State/UT-wise has shown that Maharashtra tops the list with 25,044 registered startups.

Karnataka is second with 15,019 registered startups, followed by Delhi with 14,734 startups. Uttar Pradesh has secured the fourth place with 13,299 startups, while Gujarat is in fifth place with 11,436 startups.

The minister also informed that the Government has undertaken various efforts to promote and support startups in the country. He stated that the Government, with the objective of building a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation, startups, and encouraging investments in the startup ecosystem of the country, launched the Startup India initiative on January 16, 2016.

The minister also added the ‘Startup India Action Plan’ comprises 19 action items spanning across areas such as “Simplification and handholding,” “Funding support and incentives,” and “Industry-academia partnership and incubation.” The Action Plan laid the foundation of Government support, schemes, and incentives envisaged to create a vibrant startup ecosystem in the country.

In the other scheme ‘Startup India: The Way Ahead’ includes actionable plans for the promotion of ease of doing business for startups, a greater role of technology in executing various reforms, building capacities of stakeholders, and enabling a digital Aatmanirbhar Bharat. The Government has also established a Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) with a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore to meet the funding needs of startups. DPIIT is the monitoring agency and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is the operating agency for FFS. The total corpus of Rs 10,000 crore is envisaged to be provided over the 14th and 15th Finance Commission cycles based on the progress of the scheme and the availability of funds.

The minister stated that the government has not only made capital available for startups at the early stage, seed stage, and growth stage but also played a catalytic role in terms of facilitating the raising of domestic capital, reducing dependence on foreign capital, and encouraging homegrown and new venture capital funds.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Startup Mahakumbh at the Bharat Mandapam, in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: PTI

India has emerged as the world’s third largest startup ecosystem with over 1.25 lakh startups and 110 unicorns, and is charting a roadmap for becoming a developed nation with the right decisions taken at the right time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on March 20.

Speaking at the Startup Mahakumbh event, Mr. Modi said India’s startup ecosystem is not limited to metro cities, it has now become a social culture.

Mr. Modi vowed that he would make India the world’s third-largest economy in his third term, and asserted that startups will play a big role in India’s progress.

The Startup India initiative gave a platform to innovative ideas, and connected entrepreneurs and ventures to funding, he said.

India’s youth has chosen the path of being job creators rather than job seekers, Mr. Modi said, highlighting the changing mindset of people.

He said women are leading more than 45% of Indian startups. India has democratised technology, and therefore the ‘haves and have-nots’ theory can not work here.

The ₹1 lakh crore fund announced for research and innovation in interim budget will help the sunrise sectors, Mr. Modi said.