The number of unicorns surged from 11 in 2016 to 118 in 2024 in India as the number of start-ups breached the 1.50-lakh mark by the end of 2024 from a paltry 502 in 2016, when the government launched the Start-up India initiative.

Maharashtra tops the list of States with the highest number of start-ups in the country. The State, which houses the IT hubs of Mumbai and Pune, leads the list with 27,459 start-ups, followed by Karnataka with 16,335 and Delhi with 15,851.

The BHASKAR platform, the Central registry which enumerates and streamlines collaboration for start-ups, investors and stakeholders, has pegged the number of start-ups in the country at 1.54 lakh. 

IT service start-ups have dominated the space with 17,618 start-ups, followed by healthcare and life sciences (14,285) and education (9,047).

“A whopping 48 per cent of recognised start-ups have at least one woman director on their boards. These start-ups have created over 17 lakh direct jobs,”  a government statement said.

Start-up India

Listing the milestones in the country’s start-up journey, he said under the 9-year-old Start-up India, the government introduced schemes and policies such as GeM Start-up Runway, National Mentorship Platform (MAARG), Seed Fund Support, Fund of Funds for Start-ups (FFS), Start-up India Yatra and Start-up Maha Kumbh 2024 to promote the start-up ecosystem.

The Start-up India initiative was launched on January 16, 2016 to foster the start-up ecosystem in the country. 

Skyroot Aerospace

Citing the example of Skyroot Aerospace, a Hyderabad-based space tech start-up, the source said the start-ups achieved remarkable milestones, including pioneering private space tech with the VIKRAM series. 

It received funding from the Start-up India Seed Fund Scheme and Fund of Funds, that helped scale its operations. 

Similarly, another Hyderabad-based start-up, Autocracy Machinery, made a mark in developing specialised equipment for agriculture and construction. It also received the funding from the government’s Start-up India initiative. 

The GeM Start-up Runway onboarded over 27,500 start-ups, generating orders worth ₹32,000 crore, while the National Mentorship Platform (MAARG) roped in 1,749 mentors and 3,022 start-ups, which received 16,000 mentorship hours.

The Start-up India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) has approved ₹902.74 crore for incubators and ₹463.18 crore for 2,583 start-ups.

The FFS committed investments of ₹11,148 crore by 2024, catalysing investments of ₹21,221.36 crore in 1,165 start-ups.

“The Start-up India Yatra covered 236 districts in 23 States, hosted 300 van stops, and organised 143 boot camps to scout start-up ideas. The Start-up Mahakumbh held in in New Delhi in 2024 attracted 48,000 footfalls, including 1,300 exhibitors,” the source said.