The number of startups in India has risen to more than 1.4 lakh, according to Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada in Rajya Sabha.
Maharashtra tops the list with 25,044 registered startups
According to a written statement provided by the minister in the house on Friday, Maharashtra leads the list of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) approved startups by state/UT, with 25,044 registered startups.
Karnataka ranks second with 15,019 registered firms, followed by Delhi’s 14,734 startups. Uttar Pradesh ranks fourth with 13,299 startups, followed by Gujarat in fifth with 11,436.
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Government has undertaken several steps to promote startups: Jitin Prasada
The minister also stated that the government has taken several steps to promote and support startups in the country. He claimed that the Government launched the Startup India program on January 16, 2016, with the goal of creating a robust ecosystem for nurturing innovation, entrepreneurs, and attracting investments in the country’s startup ecosystems.
The minister further said that the ‘Startup India Action Plan’ has 19 action items covering topics such as “simplification and handholding,” “funding support and incentives,” and “industry-academia partnership and incubation.” The Action Plan established the groundwork for government support, initiatives, and incentives aimed at creating a vibrant startup ecosystem in the country.
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“The other scheme, ‘Startup India: The Way Ahead,’ comprises actionable measures for promoting the ease of doing business for entrepreneurs, increasing the role of technology in implementing key reforms, boosting stakeholder capacities, and enabling a digital Aatmanirbhar Bharat. The government has established a Fund of Funds for entrepreneurs (FFS) with a corpus of ₹10,000 crore to satisfy entrepreneurs’ funding needs. DPIIT serves as the monitoring agency, while the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) operates FFS. The total corpus of ₹10,000 crore is expected to be provided throughout the 14th and 15th Finance Commission cycles, depending on the scheme’s progress and available funding,” he added.
According to the minister, the government has not only provided funding for startups in their early, seed, and growth stages but has also acted as a catalyst to encourage the creation of new venture capital funds and raise domestic capital, lessen reliance on foreign funding, and raise domestic capital.
