Opinion | Modinomics and the Startup Revolution
The number of startups has grown up dramatically from a mere 350 in 2014, to over 1.57 lakh in 2025
In the last nine years, a startup was launched every hour. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has recognised a total of 1.57 lakh startups. Further, 48 per cent startups have at least one-woman director. These recognised startups have generated over 17.2 lakh direct jobs. Additionally, India is home to over 100 GenAI startups, which have raised more than $600 million since 2019. Overall, startups have raised more than Rs 13 lakh crore via funding from various sources, with VC funding alone, at a healthy Rs 1.44 lakh crore. Paucity of funds which prevented startups from realising their goals, is no longer the case. With the India growth story firing on all cylinders under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, startups are now being wooed by an array of investors.
Interestingly, over 32 per cent of college graduates have turned to starting their own businesses rather than simply looking for a routine job. This rise in risk taking and unleashing of “animal spirits" is remarkable as it showcases the willingness of our youth to be at the forefront in terms of wealth creation. Also, 79 per cent of the startups prioritise enterprise applications with AI, while 72 per cent have invested in new-age technologies or plan to do so. Over 40 per cent of the startups come from tier-2 and tier-3 cities and towns, showcasing how the startup revolution unleashed by the Modi government, is truly democratic, having permeated even lesser known geographies.
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Prior to 2014, there were only 350 startups and just 4 home-grown Unicorns. The Congress ruled India for 54 out of the first 67 years of independent India and yet in these lost decades, India was dominated largely by big businesses with no room for our entrepreneurial class. All that changed in the last 10 years, with the number of startups rising dramatically from a mere 350 in 2014, to over 1.57 lakh in 2025, thanks to Modinomics. The number of Indian Unicorns too rose sharply from just 4 in 2014 to over 118 in 2024, with a total worth of over $374 billion. Under Prime Minister Modi, India’s startup ecosystem, the third largest in the world, celebrates meritocracy, not monopoly; innovation, not unwanted intervention.
Over 60 per cent of the Unicorn founders in India built a startup valued at over $1 billion in their first attempt itself in the last 10 years, whereas only 29 per cent took two attempts to build their first Unicorn. India is projected to have over 150 Unicorns in the fintech sector alone, worth over $500 billion, by 2030.Currently, India is home to many Unicorns including Zepto, Krutrim, InCred, Moneyview, Rapido, Slice, Licious, BharatPe, MyGlamm, Zeta, Groww, PharmEasy, Acko, BlackBuck, MamaEarth, Cars24, Cred, PhysicsWallah, Meesho, 5ire, GlobalBees, Mensa Brands, Unacademy, upGrad, Oxyzo, CoinDCX, CoinSwitch, Pine Labs, HighRadius, Udaan, Yubi, Hasura, Darwinbox, ShareChat, Spinny and Ola Electric, among others. Do you know what is common to all the aforesaid Unicorns? All of them not only started businesses in the last 10 years but even upgraded to becoming Unicorns in the last 10 years alone, which is not a mean achievement.
How did this miracle happen? It was made possible due to a startup friendly ecosystem provided by the Modi government with benign tax laws, zero red-tapism and fast-tracking patent and trademark applications. Abolition of 1,562 outdated laws and 40,000 unnecessary compliances, decriminalisation of many company law provisions, faceless assessment, relaxation of FDI norms, liberalisation of drone rules and impetus to geospatial, space and defence sectors, have brought unprecedented energy to the startup economy.
By unleashing the startup revolution, Prime Minister Modi has dismantled the old oligarchies of erstwhile Congress regimes and infused India’s economic landscape with new opportunities and a new mind-set. India’s rank in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB) improved from 142nd in 2015 to 63rd in 2020.As for innovation, India ranks 39th in the Global Innovation Index from a group of 133 countries, versus 81st rank in 2014-15. In 2023 alone, 90,309 patents were filed at the rate of 247 patents a day. The Modi government is a clear example of “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance". One of PM Modi’s biggest success stories is the Startup India Action Plan. It comprises 19 action items spanning across areas such as “Simplification and handholding", “Funding support and incentives" and “Industry-academia partnership and incubation". The way ahead includes actionable plans for promotion of ease of doing business for Startups, greater role of technology in executing various reforms, building capacities of stakeholders and enabling a digital Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Easy availability of capital is essential for entrepreneurs at the early stages of growth of an enterprise. Rs 945 was sanctioned under the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) for a period of four years starting from 2021-22.
The Modi government has also established a fund of funds for startups (FFS), with a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore, to meet the funding needs of startups. DPIIT is the monitoring agency and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is the operating agency for FFS. FFS has not only made capital available for Startups at early stage, seed stage and growth stage but also played a catalytic role in facilitating raising of domestic capital, reducing dependence on foreign capital and encouraging home grown and new ventures.
The Modi government has also established the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) for providing credit guarantees to loans extended to recognised startups by Scheduled Commercial Banks, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Venture Debt Funds (VDFs) under SEBI registered Alternative Investment Funds. CGSS is aimed at providing credit guarantee up to a specified limit against loans extended by Member Institutions (MIs), to finance eligible borrowers, that is, DPIIT recognised startups.
Over 55 regulatory reforms have been undertaken since 2016 to enhance ease of doing business, ease of raising capital and to reduce compliance burden for the Startups. Further, Government e-Marketplace (GeM) also facilitates and promotes procurement of products and services by the Government from startups. Startups are allowed to self-certify their compliance under 9 labour and 3 environment laws for a period of 3 to 5 years from the date of incorporation. Startups incorporated on or after 1st April 2016 can apply for income tax exemption. A DPIIT-recognised startup is eligible for exemption from the provisions of section 56(2)(viib) of the Income Tax Act. The recognised startups that are granted an Inter-Ministerial Board Certificate are exempted from income-tax for a period of 3 consecutive years out of 10 years since incorporation. Additionally, the Modi government has notified Startups as ‘fast track firms’ enabling them to wind up operations within 90 days vis-a-vis 180 days for other companies.
From tech-driven solutions to rural innovations, healthcare advancements to biotech breakthroughs, Fintech to EdTech, clean energy to sustainable technology, Indian startups are solving global challenges while at the same time creating employment opportunities and boosting the country’s quest towards self-reliance. Underlining PM Modi’s commitment to fostering an entrepreneurial ecosystem that uplifts every dream his government has left no stone unturned to encourage a culture of startups. The best example of how startups in emerging sectors are redefining the economic landscape are Biotech startups that have risen from just 50 in number ten years back, to as many as 9000, now.
Similarly, Biotech incubators have risen from 6 to 75 in this period, while investments into the Biotech sector have risen from Rs 86,000 crore, to Rs 11.18 lakh crore, within a span of just 10 years. Avaana Capital, India’s first institutional climate-focused venture capital fund investing in early-stage startups, signed an MoU with Startup India recently. This partnership is aligned with the Modi government’s vision of making India a global manufacturing hub and driving self-reliance under the Make in India initiative.
Founded in 2021 by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, Zepto, epitomising India’s startup revolution, has emerged as a leader in India’s quick commerce sector, delivering groceries in just 10 minutes. Zepto’s rapid rise is attributed to its innovation, strategic funding, and deep market insight. By 2024, Zepto boasted of a $5 billion valuation, following a $350 million funding round, with an IPO planned in this year. There are many ideas like Zepto waiting to take off. From ideation to fruition requires execution of that germ of an idea that finally unlocks value both for the ideators and the public at large. But unlocking value cannot happen without a congenial ecosystem that rewards meritocracy and it is here that Prime Minister Modi deserves unabashed applause for unlocking India’s potential by promoting the 3Is–Inquiry, Insight and Innovation.
Sanju Verma is an economist, national spokesperson of the BJP and the bestselling author of ‘The Modi Gambit’. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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