10 years of Startup India: New iteration in works

THe regime plans to unveil a francis scott key swivel in Startup republic of india initiative to encourage entrepreneurship in futurity technologies such as AI and deep tech, officials said on Wednesday, ahead of an event on Friday where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to unveil the roadmap for the next stage of flagship scheme on its 10th anniversary.The government recognises January 16 as National Startup Day to mark the day in 2016 when the Modi government launched the initiative. The programme was designed to transform India into a country of job creators instead of job seekers and build a strong ecosystem for innovation.Since its launch, India has grown from around 400 startups to over 200,000 government-recognised startups, with 2.1 million people now employed in these sectors. The ecosystem now boasts 120 unicorns collectively valued at over $350 billion, making India the third-largest startup ecosystem globally.The scheme involved the ₹10,000 crore Fund of Funds for Startups managed by SIDBI, which catalysed ₹90,000 crore in total corpus and investments of ₹21,000 crore across nearly 1,200 startups in less than nine years of its launch. It also provided simplified compliance, self-certification, tax exemptions for three years, and schemes like the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups.The focus will now be on corporate engagement with startups and nurturing entrepreneurs in deep tech and AI to develop innovative solutions for businesses, according to Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) secretary Amardeep Singh Bhatia.“When ‘Startup India’ initiative was launched by the Prime Minister in 2016, India had some 400 startups. Today, India has over 2 lakh DPIIT-recognised startups,” Bhatia said.According to DPIIT, Indian startups provide an average of 11 jobs each, with the department recognising nearly 80 startups every day. In 2025, to mark nine years since the launch of the scheme, the government had said that over 52.6% of recognised startups were based in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.Almost a year after coming to power, PM Modi in his Independence Day speech on August 15, 2015, spoke about promoting entrepreneurship at the grassroots through the Startup India campaign.Bhatia said the next focus is to nudge corporates for active engagement with startups to develop a cost-effective, mutually beneficial supply chain. Using AI and deep tech, technopreneurs would build customised solutions and innovative products for big companies. This would help companies reduce manufacturing costs and create a high-tech ecosystem. Several memoranda of understanding have been signed by DPIIT with companies for this collaboration.“We have been pushing corporates to deepen their engagements with startups... Companies can outsource problems to startups,” Bhatia said.The pivot towards deep tech comes at a time of AI-led innovation that is sweeping through a raft of industrial domains. Sectors such as defence tech, space tech, biotech, semiconductors, and climate tech have emerged as business models that barely existed before the Startup India initiative.Such focus is seen as critical for India to compete globally while also achieving self-reliance (Atmanirbharta), especially against the backdrop of fragile geopolitical equations that could hamper critical technology and material supply chains.DPIIT joint secretary Sanjiv said the success lay in the government’s role as an enabler by simplifying rules, opening doors to funding, and providing mentorship support.National Startup Day 2026 is significant as it marks 10 years of the initiative, alongside the fifth edition of the States Startup Ranking Framework and the National Startup Awards 5.0.“As we step into the next decade of Startup India, DPIIT remains committed to fostering an environment that supports innovation, inclusion and long-term growth,” Sanjiv said.