India records a 10% increase in the number of startups each year

There has been a considerable rise in the percentage of startups that are being founded in India every year. Sanjeev Malhotra, the CEO of Nasscom Centre of Excellence for Internet of Things (IoT), said on February 22 that every year has recorded a 10% increase in the number of startups in the country.

Most of the startups are on the application side, while a lot of work has also been done in the field of software-aided services. “There has been significant growth in the number of companies and funding organisations which are attributing to this cause,” Malhotra added.

But there is a need to build startups in areas of core research, he said. The centre of excellence is the largest technology and innovation ecosystem in the country, comprising startups, innovators, enterprises and the government. India has the third-largest ecosystem for startups in the world, Malhotra said.

The Economic Survey 2021-22 had also mentioned that the number of such firms has grown remarkably over the last six years. “The number of new recognised startups has increased to over 14,000 in 2021-22 from only 733 in 2016-17. As a result, India has become the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world after the US and China,” the survey stated.

More unicorns are in the making in the country, Malhotra said, adding that the “funding pattern is getting healthier”.

In business terms, a unicorn is a privately held startup company valued at over USD 1 billion.

Further, a record 44 Indian startups have achieved unicorn status in 2021, taking the overall tally of such firms in the country to 83, and most of these are in the services sector, the survey said.

The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) has been providing the necessary ecosystem for nurturing startups, Malhotra added.