India now home to over 158,000 startups amassing $155B in funding: DPIIT

India’s startup ecosystem has grown exponentially since the launch of the Startup India initiative in 2016, with the number of startups surging from around 400 then to over 158,000 today, according to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

The campaign has been a cornerstone in fostering entrepreneurship and building a strong startup culture. "The initiative has been instrumental in transforming India into a nation of job creators rather than job seekers," DPIIT Secretary Amardeep Singh Bhatia said during a briefing on January 10.

Startup funding has skyrocketed, reaching $155 billion by 2024, compared with just $8 billion in 2016. Additionally, the ecosystem's reach is broadening with 48% of startups now originating from Tier II and III cities, DPIIT Joint Secretary Sanjiv Singh noted.

India's unicorn count has expanded dramatically, increasing from eight in 2016 to 118 by 2024. The sector has also created over 1.7 million jobs, he added.

Key policy boosts, including removing the angel tax in the last Budget and launching the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) scheme in 2016 have contributed to this growth. "The feedback indicates that the removal of the angel tax has been a major factor in encouraging startups to return to India," Bhatia added.

On January 10, DPIIT also convened a meeting with representatives of over 75 alternative investment funds (AIFs) to explore strategies for enhancing startup funding across the country.

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The Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) was established with a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore to boost India’s startup ecosystem by facilitating access to domestic capital. Instead of directly investing in startups, the scheme provided capital to SEBI-registered AIFs, which, in turn, invested in startups through equity and equity-linked instruments.

The department has approached the top 100 NSE-listed companies to drive the development of manufacturing incubators. This effort seeks to boost capital mobilisation and strengthen the startup ecosystem by encouraging collaboration between established industry players and startups, with a focus on mentorship and support for emerging businesses.

The department has also approached some large corporates to boost manufacturing startups by identifying specific products that could be sourced from the firms, according to the official.