Over 1 Lakh Startups Registered Under Startup India Initiative: Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal

• ByStartupStory     |    September 25, 2023

India recently achieved a significant milestone in its entrepreneurial journey, surpassing 1 lakh registered startups under the Startup India initiative, according to Piyush Goyal, the Minister of Commerce and Industry. Speaking at an event in New Delhi, Goyal emphasized the remarkable growth of the startup ecosystem in India, which has seen the number of startups surge from 450 in 2016 to over 1 lakh in 2023, earning recognition from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.

This achievement solidifies India’s position as the third-largest startup ecosystem globally. A recent response to the Rajya Sabha during the monsoon session revealed that Maharashtra, with 4,801 registrations, Uttar Pradesh, with 2,572 registrations, and Delhi, with 2,567 registrations, led the way as the top three startup hubs in terms of registrations in 2022.

The data provided by Som Prakash, Minister of State in the Commerce Ministry, also indicated that 26,522 new startups were registered in 2022 under the Startup India initiative—a 32.6% increase from the 19,989 startup registrations in 2021. Furthermore, a report by Rao Inderjeet Singh, MoS Corporate Affairs, highlighted that there are over 3,000 fintech startups registered with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.

Several other states, including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal, also reported substantial growth in their startup ecosystems last year.

However, despite the significant milestone, the Indian startup ecosystem has faced funding challenges in H1 2023. According to the India Tech semi-annual report 2023 by market intelligence platform Tracxn, there was a 72% decline in funding compared to H1 2022, with total funding amounting to approximately $5.5 billion—a significant drop from the $19.7 billion recorded in the first half of 2022. Early-stage funding rounds were also impacted, with a 44% decline in deployment compared to the previous half-year, amounting to $1.4 billion.

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