Startups in India rose from 471 in 2016 to 72,993 in 2022

The government has operationalised 26 Centers of Excellence in the country

The number of recognised startups in India have increased from 471 in 2016 to 72,993 till June 30, 2022, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on Friday. This implies a 15,400% rise in startups in 6 years.

The government launched Startup India initiative on 16th January 2016. The written answer further says, Department For Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has recognized startups which are spread across 56 diversified sectors. More than 4,500 Startups are related to Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, artificial intelligence, analytics, etc.

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Additionally, in order to promote innovation and entrepreneurship by providing financial support the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has launched “Innovation and Agri-entrepreneur development” programme. Startups under the programme are taking up projects in various fields of agriculture and allied sectors like Agro Processing, Food Technology & Value Addition etc.

Under National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI), launched in 2016, different programmes range from providing fellowships to the students opting for entrepreneurship.

The government has also operationalised 26 Centers of Excellence (CoEs) in diverse areas of national interest for driving self-sufficiency and creating capabilities to capture new and emerging technology areas. These CoEs act as important institutes to promote innovation in emerging technologies.

Under the Atal Innovation Mission, the government has set up Atal Incubation Centres (AIC) to incubate startups in various sectors. It has also launched Atal New India Challenge (ANIC) program to directly aid startups with technology based innovations.