Ministry of Commerce & Industry marks 9 years of Startup India Initiative

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Startup India Initiative was launched as a flagship initiative of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in 2016.

Key-features of Startup India Initiative

Objective: To catalyse startup culture and build a strong and inclusive ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship in India.
Core Features:
- Ease of Doing Business: Simplified compliance, self-certification, and single-window clearances.
- Tax Benefits: Tax exemptions for 3 consecutive financial years.
- Funding Support: ₹10,000 crore Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) supports early-stage funding.
- Sector-Specific Policies: Like biotechnology, agriculture, and renewable energy.
Flagship Schemes under Startup India
- Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS): Four-year period scheme Supporting startups in areas like proof of concept, prototype development, commercialisation etc.
- Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS): Offers credit guarantee for loans provided to eligible startups.
- FFS Scheme: To enhance access to domestic capital for Indian startups.

Increase in Startups: DPIIT-recognised startups increased from 500 (2016) to 1.59 lakh (2025).
Startup Ecosystem: India became third-largest startup ecosystem in the world with over 100 unicorns.
Employment Generation: Of over 16.6 lakh direct jobs as of October 31, 2024.
Women Empowerment: 73,151 recognised startups have at least one woman director.

Bharat Startup Knowledge Access Registry (BHASKAR) platform launched in 2024, connects entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, policymakers, and other startup ecosystem players on a single platform.
MAARG mentorship platform to facilitate intelligent matchmaking between mentors and startups.
Startup India Hub portal serves as a comprehensive digital platform for entrepreneurial ecosystem stakeholders.
States’ Startup Ranking framework to strengthen regional startup ecosystems, capacity-building workshops.