The success of several unicorns in India in 2024 narrate the booming start-up ecosystem in the country and the government will ensure all possible support to sustain the growth momentum, said Union Minister Piyush Goyal at an event in New Delhi. He further added that the country today has grown from 9,000 to 1,57,000 start-ups today.
Goyal said, “Most unicorns have done phenomenally well and I think there can be no better proof of this than the fact that we had 76 IPO offerings in calendar 2024. On my behalf and on behalf of the Government of India and on behalf of Prime Minister Modi, I would like to reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the faster growth of the India startup ecosystem.”
He further added, “As we stand before a world full of challenges and look at newer technologies such as AI, India does not fight shy and our entrepreneurs are confident to take any challenge that the world has to offer”. He also launched the Bharat Start-Up Grant challenge which offers procurement opportunities for start-ups that includes funding, mentorship in collaboration with corporates. Additionally, he launched PRABHAAV Factbook which will act as a guide to India’s start-up ecosystem and its growth story from 2016-2024.
He was speaking at an event embarking 9 years of Startup India initiative(a flagship event of the government of India that was launched in 2016 to promote entrepreneurship in the country),
The event also raised the curtain of the Startup Mahakumbh. StartUp Mahakubh will happen from April 3 to April 5 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The event will feature over 3,000 exhibitors, 10,000 startups, and 1,000 investors, incubators, and accelerators. It's led by FICCI, the key organizers include ASSOCHAM, IVCA, and Bootstrap Foundation.
Speaking at the event, Sanjiv Singh, Joint Secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade ( DPIIT) said, “We have recognised over 1.7 lakh start-ups especially those in non metro cities. Soon we will have 100 per cent district coverage in line with the PM’s vision of fostering start-ups in every corner of the nation.”
Even though start-ups have grown exponentially, the country has a lot to learn from the world. For instance, China’s local fund industry is 100 per cent of our size, said Sanjay Nair, President, Assocham. “We need to stop depending on the government for schemes. Local fund managers need to capitalize on the industry. We can not rely on foreign capital. We need to think about second refunds else AIFs will have to take shorter decisions. Compared to the world, we have a lot of work to go,” added Nair.
