India Home To Nearly 2 Lakh DPIIT-Recognised Startups

India’s startup ecosystem continues to expand at a rapid pace, with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) recognising 1,97,692 startups under the Startup India initiative as of October 2025.

As per a written reply tabled in the Lok Sabha by commerce minister Piyush Goyal, the world’s third largest startup ecosystem has created over 21.11 Lakh direct jobs so far. 

In this, Maharashtra continues to lead on this front with 34,444 DPIIT-recognised startups in the state having generated more than 3.76 Lakh direct jobs.

As of October 2025, 4,147 startups have received certificates of eligibility under Section 80-IAC, which allows them to claim deduction for three consecutive assessment years. The industry-wise dataset tabled by the commerce minister reveals the highest number of tax beneficiaries emerging from healthcare & lifesciences, IT services, construction, agriculture and professional services.

The maturing startup ecosystem has also seen churn. The government disclosed that 6,385 DPIIT-recognised startups are categorised as having been dissolved from the MCA database. Maharashtra (1,196), Karnataka (845) and Delhi (737) account for the highest startup shutdowns.

At the same time, the centre clarified that it has “not observed any increase in startup closures,” stating that such shutdowns typically stem from business-model challenges, funding conditions and macroeconomic factors.

To catalyse growth, the government continues to run its three flagship funding mechanisms under Startup India:

Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS):  A fund of funds scheme with a corpus of INR 10,000 Cr, managed by SIDBI, supporting AIFs to invest twice the amount in startups. The entire corpus has been committed to 144 AIFs

Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS): With a corpus of INR 945 Cr, the scheme provides grants of up to INR 20 Lakh for prototype development and up to INR 50 Lakh as seed funding through a network of approved incubators. The centre has deployed the entire corpus across 219 incubators.

Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS): This is the government’s initiative designed to provide collateral-free loans to eligible startups through approved financial institutions. As of October, the Centre has guaranteed a total of 311 loans totalling INR 755.25 Cr. 

Meanwhile, state governments are also pushing aggressively to develop their respective startup ecosystem. For instance, the recently released Delhi Startup Policy 2025 draft aims to support the emergence of 5,000 new startups within the national capital territory by 2035, backed by a proposed INR 200 Cr VC fund. Other state governments that have recently unveiled new startup policies include Haryana, Telangana, among others.

As India edges closer to the 2 Lakh startup mark, the government is positioning the Startup India framework as a long-term pillar of innovation-led economic growth.