A mid-year review of startups in India

Not every startup is successful, but a startup can originate in any sector.?

Here’s why.?

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, as on June 30, 2022, has recognised 72,933 startups across 56 diversified sectors – making India the third-largest startup ecosystem after the US and China. Of these, 34,473 startups, or 48%, are from the metro cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune and Ahmedabad. ?

That means over 50% of the recognised startups belong to the non-metros, or Tier II & III cities.?

For a frame of reference, the number of startups grew 15,385% from 471 in January 2016, when Startup India was launched, to 72,993 in June 2022 – a clear indication of the scope and potential for building a robust startup ecosystem. Of these, 46,173 entities were recognised as startups only in the last three years, 2019 to 2021. Today, there is at least one such startup from every state and union territory. The startups are spread across 640 districts and have reportedly created over seven lakh jobs.?

Maharashtra, at 13,519, accounts for the most number of recognised startups among all the states and union territories, followed by Karnataka, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. These 15 states collectively account for 68,118 as of June 2022.

Significantly, over 4,500 startups have been recognised in sectors pertaining to emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, and Data Analytics, while more than 3,300 startups are a part of climate-action sectors like Renewable Energy and Green Technology.

Other startup-attracting sectors include IT Services, Healthcare and Lifesciences (healthtech), Education (edutech), Agriculture (agritech), Food and Beverages (foodtech), Construction, Financial Technology (fintech) and Automotive, among dozens of other sectors.?

The growth of startups in small cities is not going unnoticed. ?

Google India recently launched its Startup School to mentor 10,000 startups in Tier II & III cities across the country. The series of guided online training modules is designed to equip early-stage startup founders with the tools, products and knowledge to grow their fledgling enterprises. It is also aimed at preventing startups from failing in the initial years of their journey. ?

The curriculum will include instructional modules on topics such as shaping an effective product strategy, deep dives on product user value, road-mapping and product requirement document development, building apps for the next billion users in markets like India and driving user acquisition and more. The nine-week virtual programme will also consist of fireside chats between Google leaders and collaborators from across the startup ecosystem spanning fintech, D2C, B2B and B2C e-commerce, language, social media and networking, job search and other sectors.?

In spite of the many challenges they face, including closures, new-age tech-driven startups are proving to be “engines of growth” vis-à-vis the economy, job opportunities, ease of business, culture of entrepreneurship, research and innovation, new business models and processes, operational efficiency and transparency, use of technology and a digital AatmaNirbhar Bharat.

Authored by @Prashant Trikannand, Adfactors PR