National Startup Day 2025: As India marks nine years of its flagship initiative for startups – Startup India launched in January 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday underscored the role of Indian startups in “solving global challenges while at the same time creating employment opportunities and boosting our quest towards self-reliance.”
In a post on X, PM Modi said Startup India has propelled India to become among the largest and most vibrant startup ecosystems. “This was when people doubted India’s ability to thrive in this system just a decade ago!”
Over the past nine years, the government has recognised 1.59 enterprises as startups under the Startup India initiative spanning 55 industries including agriculture, IT, biotech, fintech, education, and renewable energy. According to the government, startups recognised by DPIIT have created over 17.2 lakh direct jobs.
According to the official data, the IT services industry leads with 2.04 lakh jobs, followed by healthcare and lifesciences with 1.47 lakh jobs and professional and commercial services with around 94,000 jobs.
Moreover, the count of unicorns or startups with a private market valuation of $1 billion or above has grown to over 100, with a collective valuation of around Rs 30 lakh crore.
The government recently launched the Bharat Startup Knowledge Access Registry (BHASKAR) platform to centralize and streamline interactions within India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The platform aims to connect startups, investors, mentors, service providers, and government bodies for the exchange of ideas and networking.
As far as the government is concerned, “we have left no stone unturned to encourage a culture of startups. Our policies have focused on ‘Ease of Doing Business’ greater access to resources and, most importantly, supporting them at every juncture,” PM Modi said.
Assuring the emerging entrepreneurs of government support, the Prime Minister said, “We reaffirm our commitment to continue fostering an entrepreneurial ecosystem that uplifts every dream and contributes to Aatmanirbhar Bharat. I compliment every youngster in the startup world and urge more youngsters to pursue this. It’s my assurance you won’t be disappointed.”