471 to nearly 73,000: India's startups have increased 15,400% in last 6 years

NEW DELHI: The number of recognised startups in India has jumped 15,400 percent in the last six years. The new-age enterprises, spread across 56 diversified sectors, have risen from 471 in 2016 to 72,993 in 2022 so far.
Over 4,500 start-ups have been recognised in sectors such as the internet of things (IoT), robotics, artificial intelligence and analytics, according to the government.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Prakash said the government is implementing the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) Scheme and the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) to provide financial assistance to startups through Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) and incubators, respectively.
'Easy availability of capital is essential for entrepreneurs at the early stages of growth of an enterprise. The capital required at this stage often presents a make-or-break situation for startups with good business ideas. The cheme aims to provide financial assistance to startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialization. Rs. 945 crore has been sanctioned under the SISFS Scheme for period of 4 years starting from 2021-22," said Prakash.
The 72,993 startups registered in India over the past six years have generated about 7.68 lakh jobs over this period.
Maharashtra has pipped Delhi and Karnataka to claim the top spot in terms of the number of startups created and subsequent employment generated over the past six years.Maharashtra saw the creation of 13,519 startups, which generated 1.46 lakh jobs over this period.
Karnataka registered 8,881 startups and 1.03 lakh jobs, while the national capital registered 8,636 startups and 87,643 jobs.
At least 52 regulatory reforms have been undertaken by the Government since 2016 to enhance ease of doing business, ease of raising capital and reduce compliance burden for the startup ecosystem.
The ministry’s statement said the Department of Science and Technology (DST) had launched an umbrella programme, called ‘National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations’ (NIDHI), in 2016 for nurturing ideas and innovations (knowledge-based and technology-driven) into successful startups.