BENGALURU: India has recorded its highest ever number of recognised startups in a single year, with more than 55,200 startups acknowledged during the financial year 2025-26, according to official data released on April 17.
The figure marks a sharp rise from over 36,400 startups recognised in 2024-25, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 51.6%. The increase highlights the continued expansion of the country’s startup ecosystem since the launch of the Startup India initiative in January 2016.
Since its inception, the initiative has led to the recognition of more than 2.23 lakh startups across the country. These startups have together created over 23.36 lakh direct jobs, with nearly 4,99,400 jobs added in 2025-26 alone, up 36.1% from the previous year.
Startups are now present across all states and union territories. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Gujarat have emerged as leading regions in terms of both the number of recognised startups and employment generation.
The data also points to growing participation by women, with more than 1.07 lakh recognised startups having at least one woman director or partner. This accounts for about 48% of all recognised startups.
Government-backed funding and credit support have played a key role in this growth. Under the Fund of Funds for Startups, more than Rs 7,000 crore has been disbursed to over 135 Alternative Investment Funds, which have invested over Rs 26,900 crore in more than 1,420 startups. A new Fund of Funds 2.0 with a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore has also been announced.
The Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups has been expanded, with over 410 loans worth more than Rs 1,250 crore guaranteed by the end of 2025-26.
Startup-led innovation is also rising, with patent filings increasing from over 2,850 in 2024-25 to more than 4,480 in 2025-26.
Public procurement is another area of growth, with more than 38,600 startups onboarded on the Government e-Marketplace, enabling wider participation in government contracts.