Blitz Bureau
THE number of start-ups which have a valuation of USD 1 billion or more each, are privately owned and are not listed on stock exchanges, popularly known as unicorns, surged from 11 in 2016 to 118 in 2024 in India. The total number of start-ups breached the 1.50-lakh mark by the end of 2024 from a paltry 502 in 2016, when the Government launched the Start-up India initiative, according to a report in the Business Line.
Maharashtra tops the list of states with the highest number of start-ups in the country. The state, which houses the IT hubs of Mumbai and Pune, leads the list with 27,459 start-ups, followed by Karnataka with 16,335 and Delhi with 15,851.
The Bhaskar platform, the Central registry which enumerates and streamlines collaboration for start-ups, investors and stakeholders, has pegged the number of start-ups in the country at 1.54 lakh.
IT service start-ups have dominated the space with 17,618 start-ups, followed by healthcare and life sciences (14,285) and education (9,047). “A whopping 48 per cent of recognised start-ups have at least one woman director on their boards.
These start-ups have created over 17 lakh direct jobs,” a Government statement said. Listing the milestones in the country’s start-up journey, it said under the 9-year-old Start-up India, the Government introduced schemes and policies such as GeM Start-up Runway, National Mentorship Platform (Maarg), Seed Fund Support, Fund of Funds for Start-ups, Start-up India Yatra and Start-up Maha Kumbh 2024 to promote the start-up ecosystem.
The Start-up India initiative was launched on January 16, 2016 to foster the start-up ecosystem in the country. The GeM Start-up Runway onboarded over 27,500 start-ups, generating orders worth ₹32,000 crore, while Maarg roped in 1,749 mentors and 3,022 start-ups, which received 16,000 mentorship hours.
The Start-up India Seed Fund Scheme has approved ₹902.74 crore for incubators and ₹463.18 crore for 2,583 start-ups.
The Fund of Funds for Start-ups committed investments of ₹11,148 crore by 2024, catalysing investments of ₹21,221.36 crore in 1,165 start-ups. “The Start-up India Yatra covered 236 districts in 23 States, hosted 300 van stops, and organised 143 boot camps to scout start-up ideas. The Start-up Mahakumbh held in in New Delhi in 2024 attracted 48,000 footfalls, including 1,300 exhibitors,” said sources.
