Indian Startups Become Major Job Creators: 7.5 Lakh Jobs Generated By 72,000 Indian Startups!

The number of officially recognised startups in India has risen to 72,000, which has created 7.5 lakh jobs in the country.

Of these, over 45 percent have at least one woman director.

Behind only US and China

A massive number of startups have been recognised by the government since 2016, when the flagship digital initiative was launched.

This made India the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world.

Jobs created

The number of jobs created comes to 11 per startup.

The figure is the result of a government-created formula in which each direct job in the sector leads to three indirect jobs.

However the figures are self-reported by start-ups and not verified by the government.

Creating jobs by recognising startups

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) had started a plan which would help generate 20 lakh new jobs in the sector by officially registering 50,000 new startups over the next four years.

Registered startups are also spread across more than 645 districts out of the 773 districts in the country.

They are present in every state and union territory, probably the reason why 30 States and UTs have now also come out with their dedicated startup policies.

Fulfilling government orders

Nearly 13,000 startups are now also registered on the Government e-Marketplace portal.

They have fulfilled 1.1 lakh orders worth Rs 5,600 crore.

India currently has over 100 unicorns and 44 of those became so in just 2021 alone.

Benefits of government acknowledgement

Getting recognised by the government gives a startup income-tax exemption for three years along with an exemption on capital gains and investments above fair market value.

This provides for easy winding up of a firm within 90 days and helps to fast-track up to 80 percent rebate on filing patents.

The recognition also facilitates funds for investments into startups through alternative investment funds.

Indirect investment in startups

In 2016, the Centre had established a Rs 10,000 crore fund of funds under the Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) to meet the financial needs of start-ups.

Of this, Rs 7,300 crore has been committed to 86 Alternate Investment Funds.

This fund does not invest directly in startups, rather they invest in existing venture capital (VC) funds, alternate investment funds registered with SEBI.

These, in turn, invest in start-ups.