Source: ANI
Subject: Government Scheme
Context: On National StartUp Day (16 January 2026), the Prime Minister of India extended greetings as India marked 10 years of the StartUp India initiative.
About 10 years of StartUp India:
What it is?
- A flagship initiative of Government of India to catalyse start up culture and build a strong, inclusive ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship.
- Implemented through a dedicated StartUp India Team under DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade).
Established in: Launched on 16 January 2016 (National StartUp Day is observed on 16 January).
Aim:
- Shift India towards a job-creator economy by enabling entrepreneurs to start, sustain, and scale ventures.
- Provide full lifecycle support from ideation → incubation → funding → mentorship → scaling.
Key features of the scheme:
- 19-Point Action Plan framework to improve ease of doing business for startups and reduce friction in compliance.
- Incubation and infrastructure support through incubation centres and ecosystem-building institutions.
- IPR facilitation with simpler, faster processes for patents and related filings.
- Regulatory and compliance reforms to ease company set-up and enable faster exit mechanisms.
- Tax and policy support to encourage early-stage risk-taking and investment in innovation.
- Funding backbone via Fund of Funds for Start ups (FFS) with a ₹10,000 crore corpus managed by SIDBI to expand domestic risk capital through AIFs.
- Digital ecosystem enablers through the StartUp India Portal for discovery, networking and resources; plus helpline/email support for quick guidance.
- Mentorship and connections through platforms like MAARG and investor-connect initiatives that link startups to mentors and funders.
Significance:
- Positions start ups as engines of change—solving societal and planetary challenges while creating jobs and new markets.
- Strengthens Aatmanirbhar Bharat by enabling start ups to enter cutting-edge sectors like space and defence, supported by reforms and a more conducive business climate.
- Reflects scale and deepening inclusiveness of India’s ecosystem, with over 2 lakh DPIIT-recognised start ups (as of Dec 2025) and about half emerging from Tier-II/Tier-III cities.
