Number Of Recognised Startups Increased From 471 In 2016 To 72,993 In 2022: Govt

The government on Friday (22 July) informed the Parliament that the number of recognised startups in India has increased from 471 in 2016 to 72,993 in 2022.

In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash said that startups and the entire technology ecosystem are the engines of growth for any country.

"Recognising this aspect, the Government launched Startup India initiative on 16 January 2016 with an aim to build a stronger ecosystem for nurturing India’s startup culture that would further drive our economic growth, support entrepreneurship, and enable large-scale employment opportunities," the minister said.

"Sustained Government efforts in this direction have resulted in increasing the number of recognised Startups from 471 in 2016 to 72,993 in 2022 (as on 30th June 2022)," he added.

Over 4,500 emerging tech startups recognised

Further, DPIIT has recognised startups which are spread across 56 diversified sectors. More than 4,500 startups have been recognised in sectors relating to emerging technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, artificial intelligence, analytics, etc.

DST's NIDHI Scheme

Furthermore, Department of Science and Technology (DST) had launched an umbrella programme called National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) in year 2016 for nurturing ideas and innovations (knowledge-based and technology-driven) into successful startups, the minister said.

Under NIDHI, different programs range from providing fellowships to the students opting for entrepreneurship through Entrepreneurs-In-Residence (EIR) Program, Promoting and Accelerating Young and Aspiring Innovators and Startups (PRAYAS) program by providing financial support for converting ideas into prototypes, availability of early stage seed support to incubated ventures, providing mentoring and investment readiness support through Accelerators, and creating Centres of Excellence (CoE) in incubation.

Biotech startups

To promote innovations in biotechnology sector, the Department of Biotechnology, through Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), supports and nurtures startups in the Biotechnology sector, the minister informed.

The major schemes are BioNEST Scheme (Bio incubators Nurturing Entrepreneurship for Scaling Technologies) and Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG) schemes.

Startups in Agriculture field

Additionally, in order to promote innovation and agripreneurship by providing financial support and nurturing the incubation ecosystem, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana- Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sector Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR) scheme has launched “Innovation and Agri-entrepreneur development” programme, as a component.

Startups under the programme are taking up projects in various fields of agriculture and allied sectors like Agro-processing, Food Technology and Value Addition, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Information & Communication Technology (ICT), Block Chain Technology (BCT), precision farming and digital agriculture, and Block Chain technology among others, he said.

Defence startups programme

Further, the Innovations for Defence Excellence(iDEX) was launched by the Department of Defense Production, Ministry of Defense, with the aim to achieve self-reliance and foster innovation and technology development in Defense and Aerospace by engaging Industries, R&D institutes and academia and provide them grants to carry out R&D.

The startups receive up to Rs 1.50 Crore as grant for development of innovative prototypes. They also receive enormous support from iDEX’s partner Incubators at IITs, IIMs and other private incubators spread all over the country, the minister said.

Atal Innovation Mission

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 that solve sectoral challenges of national importance and societal relevance, he informed.

Centres of Excellence

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

TIDE Scheme

Further, Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE) Scheme, launched by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, has a multi-pronged approach in diverse areas of electronics, information and communications technology and management, the minister said.

The TIDE scheme aims to assist institutions of higher learning to strengthen their technology incubation centres and enable young entrepreneurs to initiate technology startup companies for commercial exploitation of technologies developed by them, he added.