Average 11 jobs created by each startup; Rs 17,272 crore invested in 915 startups- Startup India review

Average 11 jobs created by each startup; Rs 17,272 crore invested in 915 startups: Startup India review

The Commerce Ministry in its annual review on Tuesday said that more than 1.14 lakh startups have been recognized by the government which have reported the creation of more than 12 lakh jobs with an average of 11 jobs created by each recognised startup under the Startup India programme.

“Several programs have been implemented over the years under the Startup India initiative to support entrepreneurs, build a robust startup ecosystem, and transform India into a country of job creators rather than job seekers,” the ministry said.

Under the scheme, SEBI-registered AIFs, known as daughter funds, invest money in startups through equity and equity-linked instruments. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) operates the fund through a selection of daughter funds and oversees the disbursal of capital. AIFs supported under FFS are required to invest at least two times the amount committed under FFS in startups.

Separately, under the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), Rs 747 crore has been approved to 192 incubators who have put Rs 291 crore in 1,579 startups. Approved for four years starting from 2021-22, the scheme facilitates financial assistance to startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialization.

Under the scheme, an Experts Advisory Committee (EAC) selects incubators who further select startups for investment.

The ministry also informed that more than 21,800 recognised startups have been on-boarded on the public procurement portal Government e-Marketplace (GeM) and received over 2.43 lakh orders from public entities, totalling Rs 18,540 crores.

At the time of filing this report, the total number of recognised startups in India was 1.16 lakh, as per the Startup India portal.

However, Indian startups have been facing a funding drought since last year, leading to layoffs. According to the latest data from layoff tracker Layoffs.fyi, 16,398 employees were laid off by over 100 Indian startups and technology companies in 2023 (as of December 26) including 1,000 by Paytm, 2,500 by Byju’s, 1,000 by JioMart, 380 by Swiggy, 700 by ShareChat, 300 by Spinny, 251 by Meesho, over 300 by Dunzo, 200 by Ola, and more.

The startup funding in India recorded a major fall of 72 per cent to $7 billion in 2023 (till December 5), compared to $25 billion in the previous year, making it the lowest-funded year in the last five years, as per data platform Tracxn.