The number of officially recognised startups in India has risen to 72,000, which has created 7.5 lakh jobs in the country, government figures show. Of these, over 45 percent have at least one woman director.
The latest numbers released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on Friday show a massive number of startups have been recognised by the government since 2016, when the flagship digital initiative was launched, making India the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world.
Accordingly, the number of jobs created comes to 11 per startup. The government had earlier based the number of jobs created on a formula of each direct job in the sector leading to three indirect jobs. However, the figures are self-reported by start-ups and not verified by the government.
Earlier this year, the DPIIT had begun a plan to enable the creation of 20 lakh new jobs in the sector by officially registering 50,000 new startups over the next four years.
Registered startups are also spread across more than 645 districts out of the 773 districts in the country, and are present in every state and union territory. They are now also present in all states and Union Territories, probably as a result of which as many as 30 States and UTs have now also come out with their dedicated startup policies.
Nearly 13,000 startups are now also registered on the Government e-Marketplace portal, the unified procurement platform of the Centre. DPIIT figures show they have fulfilled 1.1 lakh orders worth Rs 5,600 crore.
India currently has over 100 unicorns, of which 44 achieved that level in just 2021 alone.
According to the official website of Startup India, getting recognised by the government gives a startup income-tax exemption for a period of three consecutive years and exemption on capital gains and investments above fair market value.
It also provides for easy winding up of a firm within 90 days and helps to fast-track up to 80 percent rebate on filing patents. The recognition also promises to facilitate funds for investments into startups through alternative investment funds.
In 2016, the Centre had established a Rs 10,000 crore fund of funds under the Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) to meet the financial needs of start-ups. Of this, Rs 7,300 crore has been committed to 86 Alternate Investment Funds.
This fund does not invest directly in startups, instead, they invest in existing venture capital (VC) funds, alternate investment funds registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. These, in turn, invest in start-ups.
From the separate Startup India Seed Fund, Rs 365 crore has been given to 99 incubators, while Rs 76 crore has been borrowed by 436 startups.
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