New Delhi: Indian startup ecosystem is widely recognized as the third largest startup ecosystem. As on July 14, 2021, a total of 52,391 entities are recognized as start ups by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), while more than 5.7 lakh jobs have been reported by more than 50,000 startups.

Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, said that as per the industry estimates, there are 53 unicorns currently in India, with a tentative valuation of Rs 1.4 lakh crore. The valuation of a company is a market driven exercise and the data of individual companies is not maintained by DPIIT.

The Startup India initiative is a flagship initiative of the Government of India, which aims to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and start ups in the country. A 19-point Startup India Action Plan was launched in January 2016 which paved the way for the introduction of a number of policy initiatives to build a strong, conducive, growth-oriented environment for Indian start ups.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled ‘Startup India: The Way Ahead’ at five years celebration of Startup India on January 16 this year, which includes actionable plans for promotion of ease of doing business for start ups, greater role of technology in executing various reforms, building capacities of stakeholders and enabling a digital Atma Nirbhar Bharat. /BI/