startup ecosystem: Economic Survey 2022: At least 14,000 new startups recognised in India, up 20 times in five years

New Delhi: India has over 61,400 startups recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), with at least 14,000 recognised during fiscal 2022, according to the Economic Survey 2021-22. The survey is an annual report card of the economy which examines the performance of several sectors and suggests future moves. It also puts forward a GDP growth projection.

The survey added that 555 districts in India had at least one new startup, highlighting that startups in India have grown remarkably over the past six years, with most of them in the IT/knowledge-based sectors.

“Startups in India have grown remarkably over the last six years. The number of new recognised startups has increased to over 14,000 in 2021-22 from only 733 in 2016-17,” the survey said.

India has become the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world after the US and China, it said. A record 44 Indian startups achieved unicorn status in 2021, taking the overall tally of startup unicorns in India to 83, with most in the services sector, the survey showed.

The survey also highlighted the string of IPOs by new-age companies. “In April-November 2021, Rs 89,066 crore was raised through 75 IPO issues, much higher than in any year in the last decade,” it said.

The survey also pointed to the growth of space tech startups in India. The number of startups in the sector has increased from 11 in 2019 to 47 in 2021, according to the survey. In recent years, Delhi has replaced Bengaluru as the startup capital of India. Over 5,000 recognised startups were added in Delhi while 4,514 startups were added in Bengaluru between April 2019 and December 2021. Maharashtra has the highest number of recognised startups with 11,308, the survey said.

Indian startups snagged record investments of up to $3.5 billion across 130 deals through January, marking a decadal high amid a downturn in global markets and signalling sustained investor interest, ET
reported earlier on Monday.

The total value of disclosed deals in January is six times higher than in the same month last year, which saw 75 deals worth $600 million. In January 2020, Indian startups sealed 65 deals with disclosed value of $1 billion, the data showed.

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