India may have 1m startups in 10 years: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

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Despite prominent startups recently hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons such as funding winter and sacking employees, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Jal Shakti Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that India is emerging as one of the most fertile economies for startups that could witness at least 10 lakh such businesses and 10,000 unicorns in the next 10 years, the Business Standard has reported.

Incidentally, the startup canvas in India is the third largest in the world and increasingly turning out to be an elixir for the economy. It is estimated that there are more than 1 lakh startups and 110 unicorns in the country.

“Today is National Startup Day, and there has been a deep, decisive transformation – we have reached a point wherein, from fewer startups in 2014, we have more than 100,000 startups and 112 unicorns. Today, no young Indian needs to have a famous last name and with creativity and hard work, we have ensured such a vibrant and expansive startup ecosystem. Our vision is that in the coming 10 years, we will have 10 lakh startups, and we will create 10,000 unicorns,” the minister said.

Chandrasekhar also pointed out that the country would produce startups in the deep-tech domains such as web3, artificial intelligence (AI), and semiconductors in big numbers.

Apart from adding to the growth in GDP, startups are also pushing the crucial cause of employment generation. Union Minister Commerce of and Industry Piyush Goyal underscored how startups are playing a significant role in the country’s journey towards a developed nation status by the centenary of the country’s Independence.

“The diverse sectors in which startups are making substantial contributions include MedTech, FinTech, AgroTech to the aviation sector, drones, and simulators,” he said an event of startup state ranking awards. He highlighted that tourism as a sector has huge untapped potential. It was a sector that is conducive to fostering startups and right now the ecosystem offered great opportunity for sustainable tourism.

Goyal also mentioned how the application of artificial intelligence (AI) could enable one to hit upon new ideas that would also push the objective of startups. To stake their rightful claim in the market, the minister exhorted entrepreneurs to register patents, copyrights, and trademark protection. The industry ministry said in a statement that the fees have been reduced for these purposes.

Incidentally, there are 117,254 DPIIT-registered startups. They are spread out in over 670 cities and half of these are from tier II and III cities that dispels the notion that big cities have a grip on this sector. Goyal mentioned in a post on social media that between themselves these businesses have generated 1,242,072 jobs and that 55,816 of India’s startups have women directors. As many as 48% of the startups have at least one woman director.

Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Education mentioned in his social media handle that the Centre’s Startup India initiative has, over the past eight years, “fuelled dreams, catalysed opportunities, and transformed India into a global startup hub.”