Gujarat home to over 19,000 DPIIT-recognised startups, tops Startup India Rankings for fifth consecutive year
Gandhinagar, June 12
Gujarat is home to more than 19,000 startups recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and has been ranked the Best Performing State in the Startup India Rankings for five consecutive years, according to an official release.
The figures were highlighted as Prime Minister Narendra Modi completed 12 years in office on May 26. The release said Gujarat has emerged as one of the country's leading startup hubs and has strengthened its startup ecosystem through policy support, innovation initiatives and entrepreneurship-focused programmes.
According to the release, the Student Startup and Innovation Policy (SSIP), launched in 2017-18, was aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and innovation among students. Following the completion of the first phase, SSIP 2.0 was introduced in 2022. The policy supports startups across traditional sectors as well as emerging and new-age technologies.
Under SSIP 1.0 and 2.0, more than 13,047 student projects have received support at the Proof of Concept (PoC) stage. The release stated that over 4,043 Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) have been filed, while 3,287 startups have received guidance and incubation support under the policy.
The release further stated that SSIP grantee institutions have utilised Rs 36.43 crore towards financial assistance for startups and innovations. More than 22.72 lakh students have participated in startup awareness initiatives conducted under the programme since its launch.
According to the release, more than 1,948 startup proposals from school students have been registered on the SSIP 2.0 portal, of which around 1,141 proposals have been approved.
The Gujarat Startup and Innovation Hub (i-Hub), established in 2019 under SSIP, has provided mentorship, incubation support and financial assistance to around 750 startups. The release described i-Hub as a facility providing legal, financial, technical and strategic guidance through a single-window support system while supporting startups at the pre-incubation, incubation and acceleration stages.
Under the Startup Creation Seed Support Scheme, more than 400 startups have received assistance worth Rs 28 crore. These startups have generated over 4,000 jobs and have a combined market valuation of approximately Rs 3,569 crore, according to the release.
The release further stated that i-Hub has facilitated more than Rs 446 crore in private funding through various venture funds and has promoted entrepreneurship and innovation awareness among over 4.5 lakh youth through its hub-and-spoke model operating across more than 20 districts.
According to the release, 269 women-led startups have received support under the WEstart initiative, which provides financial assistance, mentorship and networking opportunities to women entrepreneurs. The release also stated that 471 startups have received seed support assistance under provisions of the Gujarat Industrial Policy.
— ANI
Reader Comments
As someone from Gujarat, I've seen the startup culture change dramatically. The WEstart initiative for women entrepreneurs is especially encouraging - 269 startups supported already! 🚺 But we need more transparency: how many of these startups are actually sustainable beyond incubation? The Rs 36 crore disbursed sounds good, but that's about Rs 2.8 lakh per project - is that enough for real innovation? Still, kudos to the policy framework.
Impressive numbers from Gujarat! As someone observing Indian startup ecosystem from outside, the Student Startup policy (SSIP) is unique - few states have such structured support from school level. 22.72 lakh students exposed to startup awareness is massive. But I wonder about job quality: 4,000 jobs from 400 startups means average 10 jobs per startup - are these quality positions or just contractual? The funding facilitation of Rs 446 crore is decent but pales compared to Bangalore's venture capital. Still, consistent ranking shows commitment.
Being a startup founder from Surat, I appreciate the i-Hub single-window support - it really simplifies legal and financial guidance. But the real test is whether these startups survive beyond 3 years. I know many who dissolved after initial funding. The school student proposals (1,141 approved) are cute but many are just projects, not viable businesses. We need more focus on scalability and market access. Good start, but need to move from 'incubation' to 'acceleration' mindset. 👍
Interesting to see Gujarat outperforming traditional startup hubs. The ₹3,569 crore combined valuation from 400+ startups sounds promising - that's almost ₹9 crore per startup average valuation. But from a global perspective, that's still early-stage. The 269 women-led startups supported is progressive, but India's overall gender gap in entrepreneurship remains stark. Would be curious to see comparison data
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.