New Delhi, Jan 16 (IANS) On the occasion of National StartUp Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday extended his best wishes to everyone associated with the startup ecosystem and said the day celebrates the courage, spirit of innovation and entrepreneurial zeal of the people of India.

Taking to the social media platform X, the Prime Minister wrote, “Best wishes to everyone associated with the world of StartUps on the occasion of National StartUp Day. Today is special because we mark a decade since the launch of StartUp India. This day is about celebrating the courage, spirit of innovation and entrepreneurial zeal of our people, especially our youth, who have powered India’s rise in the global StartUp ecosystem.”

PM Modi will participate in an event to mark a decade of the Startup India initiative at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi.

During the programme, the Prime Minister will interact with members of India’s vibrant startup ecosystem. Select startup representatives will share insights from their entrepreneurial journeys, highlighting challenges, innovations and success stories. The Prime Minister will also address the gathering on the occasion.

The Startup India initiative was launched by the Prime Minister on this day in 2016 as a transformative national programme aimed at nurturing innovation, promoting entrepreneurship and enabling investment-driven growth. The initiative was launched with the objective of making India a nation of job creators rather than job seekers.

Over the past decade, Startup India has emerged as a cornerstone of the country’s economic and innovation architecture. It has strengthened institutional mechanisms, expanded access to capital and mentorship, and fostered an enabling environment for startups to grow and scale across sectors and geographies.

India’s startup ecosystem has witnessed unprecedented expansion during this period, with more than 2,00,000 startups recognised across the country. These startups have emerged as significant drivers of employment generation, innovation-led economic growth and the strengthening of domestic value chains across diverse sectors.

The country will mark National Startup Day, celebrating a landmark decade for startups not just as economic engines but as enduring symbols of India’s innovation-led growth story.

Aligned with India’s march towards a Viksit Bharat by 2047, the movement has had a transformative impact on India’s entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem.

Startups have become engines of economic transformation by driving technological innovation and productivity, creating large-scale employment opportunities, enhancing financial inclusion and digital access, and promoting grassroots entrepreneurship.

The initiative, led by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has evolved from a policy-focused framework into a comprehensive, multi-dimensional platform supporting startups at every stage from ideation to scaling operations.

This progress is reflected in India’s high-value startup ecosystem, which has expanded from just four privately held companies valued above $1 billion in 2014 to over 120 such firms today, with a combined valuation exceeding $350 billion.

Since its launch on January 16, 2016, the Startup India initiative has transformed from a policy framework into one of the world’s largest and most diverse entrepreneurial ecosystems.

With over two lakh DPIIT-recognised startups as of December 2025, India now stands firmly among the top global hubs for innovation, job creation, and inclusive growth.

Women-led ventures are a striking feature of this landscape, where, as of December 2025, 45 per cent of recognised startups have at least one female director or partner.

Additionally, startups are no longer confined to metros, with nearly half originating from Tier-II and Tier-III cities, signalling the democratisation of entrepreneurship.

Meanwhile, several government-backed programmes have underpinned this growth. With a Rs 10,000 crore corpus managed by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) has supported over 140 Alternative Investment Funds, which in turn invested more than Rs 25,500 crore in over 1,370 startups.

Also, Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) enabled collateral-free loans worth Rs 800 crore across more than 330 startups.

Further, with Rs 945 crore allocated to over 215 incubators, a Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) supports proof-of-concept, prototyping, and market entry.

Then, there is Startup India Hub, a digital platform connecting entrepreneurs with investors, mentors, and incubators. The States’ Startup Ranking Framework (SRF) also encourages competitive federalism by ranking states and union territories on startup-friendly policies.

The Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience and Growth (MAARG) Mentorship Portal is a one-stop platform to facilitate mentorship for startups, while the Investor Connect Portal links startups with venture capital funds, streamlining fundraising.

Beyond Startup India, sector-specific initiatives have reinforced the ecosystem, including Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), which has established over 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs across 733 districts, engaging 1.1 crore students in projects spanning AI, robotics, and IoT with Rs 2,750 crore allocated till 2028.

–IANS

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