Startups and the entire innovation ecosystem are the engines of growth for any country. Recognizing this aspect, Government launched Startup India initiative on 16^th January 2016 with an aim to build a stronger ecosystem for nurturing India’s startup culture that would further drive our economic growth, support entrepreneurship, and enable large-scale employment opportunities.

Sustained Government efforts in this direction have resulted in increasing the number of recognized Startups from 726 in FY 2016-17 to 66,810 in FY 2021-22 (as on 28^th March 2022).

There is at least one recognized startup from every State and UT and nearly 50% of the recognized startups are from Tier-II and III cities. Recognized startups are spread across over 640 districts and have reported creation of more than 7 lakh jobs.

Furthermore, DPIIT has recognized startups which are spread across 56 diversified sectors. More than 4,500 Startups have been recognized in sectors relating to emerging technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, artificial intelligence, analytics, etc. Sector-wise number of startups recognized, is as follows:

Sector wise number of recognized Startups as on 28^th March 2022 

Sector	Number of Recognized Startups
Advertising	529
Aeronautics Aerospace & Defence	585
Agriculture	3074
AI	1323
Airport Operations	6
Analytics	537
Animation	67
AR VR (Augmented + Virtual Reality)	368
Architecture Interior Design	369
Art & Photography	217
Automotive	1260
Biotechnology	139
Chemicals	519
Computer Vision	200
Construction	2337
Dating Matrimonial	54
Design	510
Education	4457
Enterprise Software	1329
Events	278
Fashion	801
Finance Technology	2094
Food & Beverages	3055
Green Technology	1582
Healthcare & Lifesciences	6191
House-Hold Services	451
Human Resources	1268
Indic Language Startups	166
Internet of Things	1229
IT Services	8374
Logistics	211
Marketing	1390
Media & Entertainment	1069
Nanotechnology	114
Non- Renewable Energy	1324
Not Specified	1297
Other Specialty Retailers	468
Others	1373
Passenger Experience	5
Pets & Animals	164
Professional & Commercial Services	3331
Real Estate	533
Renewable Energy	1775
Retail	1611
Robotics	390
Safety	209
Security Solutions	696
Social Impact	446
Social Network	536
Sports	326
Technology Hardware	2070
Telecommunication & Networking	649
Textiles & Apparel	875
Toys and Games	103
Transportation & Storage	1127
Travel & Tourism	1051
Waste Management	298
Grand Total	66810

 The Government has also operationalized 26 Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in diverse areas of national interest for driving self- sufficiency and creating capabilities to capture new and emerging technology areas. These domain specific CoEs are being established pan India with the participation of the Central Government, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), State Government(s), industry partnership and venture capital firms. These CoEs act as important enablers to promote innovation in emerging technologies.

 This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Shri Som Parkash, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

Startup recognition growth expands nationwide and across sectors, paired with Centres of Excellence to boost innovation and capabilities. The Startup India initiative expanded recognised startups substantially between FY 2016 17 and FY 2021 22, achieving nationwide geographic spread, significant presence in Tier II/III cities, distribution across over 640 districts and reported job creation, with sectoral concentration including IT services, healthcare, education, finance technology and emerging technologies such as IoT, AI, robotics and analytics. The Government has operationalised 26 domain specific Centres of Excellence established pan India with participation from central agencies, STPI, State governments, industry partners and venture capital firms to promote innovation and capability building in emerging technology areas.