New Delhi, June 28 (IANS) Direct employment generated by recognised Indian startups has reached 23.36 lakh, reflecting a 36.1 per cent year-on-year surge in job creation, according to an official statement.

Nearly 48 per cent of all recognised startups feature at least one woman director or partner, underscoring the inclusive character of India’s innovation growth.

With over 2 lakh DPIIT-recognised startups (as of December 2025), India stands firmly as one of the world’s largest startup ecosystems.

The innovation ecosystem has recorded its strongest year yet. Over 55,200 entities were certified by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in FY 2025-26 alone, the highest single-year addition since the programme’s inception, according to the statement.

As Digital India completes 11 years, the programme is operating at the intersection of scale and frontier, continuing to deliver services to hundreds of millions of citizens while building the AI infrastructure, semiconductor capacity and advanced electronics ecosystem of tomorrow.

“With India’s Global Innovation Index ranking having improved from 81 in 2015 to 38 in 2025, and with 2,23,000 recognised startups driving innovation-led growth, Digital India’s eleventh anniversary is not merely a milestone to reflect upon; it is the foundation from which India’s next decade of global technological leadership will be built,” the official statement noted.

In April 2026, the unified payments interface (UPI) completed ten years of transforming India’s financial landscape. In FY 2025-26, the platform recorded 24,162 crore transactions.

UPI now powers 81 per cent of India’s digital payments and accounts for nearly 49 per cent of all global real-time digital transactions, cementing India’s position as the undisputed global leader in real-time payments. UPI is operational in multiple countries, and India’s Digital Public Infrastructure has been formally engaged by 23 nations through cooperation agreements.

Moreover, India’s digital backbone has continued to strengthen over the past year.

Broadband subscribers have reached 106.58 crore (as of March 2026).

BharatNet has connected 2.18 lakh Gram Panchayats with high-speed broadband, taking digital access to the last mile of rural India.

India’s 5G network now covers 99.9 per cent of districts, with 4.74 lakh towers established. In February 2026, the National Data Centre for the North East Region was launched at Guwahati, strengthening digital infrastructure and data sovereignty for the region.

—IANS

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