India's DPIIT-recognised startups top 2.5 lakh, backing 25.42 lakh jobs
With over half the founders outside the metros and nearly half of firms having a woman director, the startup map is widening beyond the big cities.
India now has 2,50,046 startups recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), and the department says they have generated about 25.42 lakh jobs across 770 districts and 56 industries. The figures were released on Tuesday along with a Commerce and Industry Ministry statement on the state of the ecosystem.
Start with the numbers that change the picture most. About 52% of recognised startups are based outside the metros, and 48% have at least one woman director. Annual recognitions rose from 34,200 in FY 2023-24 to 36,440 in FY 2024-25, a steady climb for a programme that began in January 2016 as Startup India.
The government credits policy for part of that growth and lists 63 regulatory reforms enabled for the sector. Among them are the abolition of angel tax and the harmonisation of long-term capital gains tax on listed and unlisted shares. Insurance companies, the EPFO, superannuation funds and gratuity funds have also been allowed to invest in alternative investment funds (AIFs), which opens new pools of domestic money for young companies.
Public funding is part of the story as well. Under the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme, Rs 775.67 crore has been approved for 4,194 startups in 32 States and Union Territories through 244 incubators. That includes 2,147 women-led ventures and 2,356 startups from Tier-II and Tier-III cities. Separately, under the Fund of Funds for Startups, SIDBI has committed Rs 12,623 crore to 166 AIFs. Those funds have put Rs 28,254 crore into 1,475 startups.
The ministry also placed startups within a wider reform and investment narrative. It says India received $843 billion in foreign direct investment between FY 2014-15 and FY 2025-26, which is 169% above the $313 billion of the preceding twelve years. Inflows hit a record $94.53 billion in FY 2025-26. Seventeen sectors have moved to the automatic route, and the defence limit for new industrial licences has gone from 49% to 74%.
Insurance saw a similar opening. The FDI cap rose from 49% to 74% in 2021 and to 100% in 2026 for insurers that invest their entire premium in India, and the sector drew roughly $8.79 billion from FY 2021-22 to FY 2024-25. Up to 100% FDI is also allowed on the automatic route in telecommunications, non-scheduled air transport, civil aviation ground handling, satellite component manufacturing and broadcasting distribution.
For job seekers and founders, the takeaway is that opportunity is spreading beyond a few big-city hubs. The figures are the government's own, and recognition does not guarantee survival or profit, so the next test is how many of these firms scale. Still, the combination of more domestic capital, lighter rules and a widening geographic base is a constructive backdrop. Read the original report at Deccan Herald.