Indian startups went from 471 in 2016 to 72,993 in 2022: commerce ministry
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Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash said the number of recognised startups in India rose from 471 in 2016 to 72,993 as on 30th June 2022. This is a 15,400% rise in a span of six years.
He added that the startup ecosystem is the engine of the growth of any country. The government launched the Startup India initiative in 2016 after recognising the trend.
Addressing a question in the Rajya Sabha, he said the programme was aimed at building a stronger ecosystem for nurturing India's startup culture that would further drive our economic growth, support entrepreneurship, and enable large-scale employment opportunities.
Over 4,500 are in sectors related to emerging technologies like IoT, robotics, AI, and analytics. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) also launched an umbrella programme called National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) to promote ideas and innovations.
Speaking about the success of biotech startups, the minister said the Department of Biotechnology, through Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), nurtured ventures in this sector.
In a written reply to the question, minister Prakash said that entrepreneurship in the agriculture industry is being backed by the government through financial support and the incubation ecosystem Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. It is an initiative under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana- Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sector Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR) scheme.
He added that startups receive up to Rs 1.5 crore as a grant for developing innovative prototypes. "They also receive enormous support from iDEX's partner Incubators at IITs, IIMs, and other private incubators."
The government has 26 Centres of Excellence in diverse areas of national interest for driving self-sufficiency. These domain-specific CoEs are being established pan India with the participation of the Central Government, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), State Government(s), industry partnership, and venture capital firms, reported ANI.