NEW DELHI: Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada recently announced in the Rajya Sabha that the number of startups in India has surged to over 140,000.
In a written reply, Prasada said Maharashtra has 25,044 registered startups, more than any other state, followed by Karnataka with 15,019, Delhi with 14,734, Uttar Pradesh with 13,299 and Gujarat with 11,436.
He further highlighted various initiatives of the government to nurture and support the startup ecosystem in the country.
The government launched the Startup India initiative on January 16, 2016 to build a strong ecosystem that nurtures innovation, startups and encourages investments.
The Startup India Action Plan includes 19 action items across three key areas – Simplification and Enablement, Funding and Incentives, and Industry-Academia Collaboration and Incubation.
Further, the government has introduced the ‘Startup India: The Way Forward’ scheme, which contains actionable plans to promote ease of doing business for startups, leverage technology in implementing reforms, build stakeholder capacity and achieve a digitalized Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
The government has also set up a Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) with an endowment of Rs 1 trillion to cater to the capital needs of startups.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) will act as the monitoring agency and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Bank of India (SIDBI) will act as the operating agency for the FFS. A total of Rs 10,000 crore will be provided in the 14th and 15th Finance Commission cycles, subject to the progress of the scheme and availability of funds.
