NEW DELHI: Over 50 per cent of the recognized Indian startups belong to non-metropolitan cities, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Prakash informed the Parliament on Wednesday.
"As on 30th June 2022, a total of 72,993 startups are recognized by DPIIT, of which 34,473 (48%) recognized startups belong to metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune, and Ahmedabad. Therefore, over 50% of the recognized startups belong to non-metropolitan cities," he said to the Lok Sabha in reply to a question about whether 50 per cent of recognized startups in the country are from Tier-II and III cities.
He further said startups and the innovation ecosystem are the engines of growth for any country.
Recognizing this aspect, the Government launched the Startup India initiative in January 2016 with an aim to build a stronger ecosystem for nurturing India's startup culture that would further drive our economic growth, support entrepreneurship, and enable large-scale employment opportunities.
"Sustained Government efforts in this direction have resulted in increasing the number of recognized Startups from 471 in 2016 to 72,993 in 2022 (as on 30th June 2022). DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) has recognized startups which are spread across 56 diversified sectors," he further said.
More than 3,300 recognized startups are working in climate action sectors providing solutions through renewable energy and green technology.
Additionally, more than 4,500 Startups have been recognized in sectors relating to emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, artificial intelligence, and analytics.
Under the Atal Innovation Mission, the Government has set up Atal Incubation Centres (AIC) to incubate startups in various sectors. It has also launched Atal New India Challenge (ANIC) program to directly aid startups with technology-based innovations that solve sectoral challenges of national importance and societal relevance.
The Government has also operationalized 26 Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in diverse areas of national interest for driving self-sufficiency and creating capabilities to capture new and emerging technology areas.
Notably, India's startup unicorns crossed the 100 mark earlier this year.