Industry Odisha Bureau, Oct 01: More than 2.35 lakh recognised startups now dot India’s map, many outside big cities. AI, manufacturing and customer access offer new routes. Building businesses that last is the harder task.
India now counts more than 2.35 lakh DPIIT-recognised startups. Together, they have created over 24 lakh direct jobs. Yet a headline count says little about what lasts. The tougher test is whether each business can survive, hire and find buyers. That shift, from creating startups to sustaining enterprises, defines the next phase.
Beyond the Metros
Entrepreneurship is no longer a big-city story. More than half of recognised startups originated in Tier-II and Tier-III cities. Over 55,200 startups were recognised in FY2025-26 alone. That was the highest annual figure since Startup India began.
Live Times founder Dilip Singh argues the next billion are more than consumers. He sees them as entrepreneurs, suppliers, creators and small-business owners.
AI as Shared Infrastructure
The IndiaAI Mission offers smaller firms a technology foundation. By August 2026, 237 projects had used subsidised AI computing. They accounted for 93.18 lakh GPU hours. AI Kosh held over 15,800 datasets and 350 AI models. Twenty AI solutions were running across public-sector institutions.
For a small business, AI could help read demand and improve productivity. It could also support market research and navigating government schemes.
Digital Meets the Factory Floor
Software alone cannot carry the next billion. Manufacturing, engineering and physical infrastructure must grow alongside it. Semicon 2.0, approved in July 2026, carries an outlay of ₹1,27,500 crore. It spans chip design, fabs, advanced packaging, research and talent. By September 2026, five first-phase semiconductor plants had begun commercial production.
PLI schemes have drawn ₹2.40 lakh crore of investment across 14 sectors. The wider prize lies in components, logistics, maintenance and specialised services.
Speaking Bharat’s Languages
Hindi and regional languages increasingly shape how people search, learn and transact. Twenty foundation-model proposals were selected from 506 applications. These include large multimodal models and small language models. Regional creators, educators and journalists are building audiences without moving to big cities.
Customers Alongside Capital
Funding often gets more attention than customers. For a young entrepreneur, a first meaningful order can validate a product. It also generates cash flow, provides a reference and proves willingness to pay.
More than 40,000 startups participate on the Government e-Marketplace, or GeM. Startup procurement through GeM has crossed ₹61,400 crore. The lesson is that ecosystems must help founders find buyers, not just capital.
Organising What Already Exists
Rural economies offer another route. Farmers experience finance, inputs, storage, logistics and market access as one livelihood. Reducing friction between those links is itself a business opportunity.
More than 9 lakh community resource persons support rural enterprise. Nearly 4.08 lakh of them are livelihood CRPs. Separately, PM Vishwakarma has registered 30 lakh artisans. The opportunity often lies in organising existing activity, not inventing new markets.
From Consumers to Producers
In Singh’s view, the next billion Indians are more than a market. They can earn, supply, employ and produce. Success means widening India’s producer base, not just its consumer base.
