65,861 recognised startups in India, a steep rise from 726 in 2016: Govt
India Today
The government said that there were 65,861 recognised startups in India now, a steep rise from 726 in 2016.
The government's sustained efforts have resulted in an increase in the number of recognised startups from 726 in 2016-17 to 65,861 as of March 14 this fiscal, according to a report presented to Parliament on Friday.
On January 16, 2016, the government launched the 'Startup India' project, with the goal of creating a stronger ecosystem for cultivating the startup culture, which will help to drive economic growth, boost entrepreneurship, and provide large-scale employment possibilities.
"Sustained government efforts in this direction have resulted in increasing the number of recognised startups from 726 in FY 2016-17 to 65,861 in FY 2021-22 (as on March 14, 2022)," Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
He claimed that the recognised firms are scattered throughout 640 districts and have created more than seven lakh jobs, with an average of 11 jobs per startup.
According to him, the recognised companies span 56 different industries, including IT services, finance technology, technology hardware, corporate software, artificial intelligence, and nanotechnology.
In response to another question, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash said that as of February 28, the ministry had allocated Rs 2,791.29 crore to SIDBI, which had committed Rs 6,795 crore to 82 Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), while supported AIFs had invested Rs 8,785 crore in 574 startups.
"The Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) aims to provide financial assistance to startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialization...Rs 945 crore has been allocated under the scheme for a period of four years starting from 2021-22," he added.
