India Ranks 3rd in Terms of Start-Up Ecosystem & Unicorns: Dr Jitendra Singh

India is ranked third in the world in terms of startup ecosystem and number of unicorns. According to the most recent data, there are currently 105 unicorns, 44 of which were born in 2021 and 19 in 2022. This was stated today by Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, while delivering the keynote address at the "DST StartUp Utsav" at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi.

According to the Minister, the decade 2021-30 will bring transformative changes to Indian science, technology, and innovation. According to Dr. Jitendra Singh, India's Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD) has more than tripled under Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last few years. According to the most recent data, India has over 5 lakh R&D personnel, a figure that has increased by 40-50% in the last eight years.

Women's participation in extramural R&D has also doubled in the last eight years, according to Dr. Jitendra Singh, and India now ranks third in terms of the number of PhDs awarded in Science and Engineering (S&E) after the United States and China. With shifting global powers and technology becoming the epicentre of international engagements and rulemaking, Modi's India is living up to global standards.

Referring to Prime Minister Modi's 2015 launch of StartUp India from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Dr Jitendra Singh stated that India, now in its 75th year of independence, is home to as many as 75,000 StartUps. According to the Minister, Modi's special emphasis on Science, Technology, and Innovation has sparked the imagination of the country's youth to innovate and solve problems with new ideas. 

He also stated that today's startups in India are not limited to metros or big cities, adding that tier-2 and tier-3 cities account for 49% of all start-ups. He stated that there are startups emerging in fields such as IT, agriculture, aviation, education, energy, health, and space.

Dr. Jitendra Singh also released four publications featuring promising start-ups under various NIDHI components, including the flagship program of Technology Business Incubator (TBI) and a coffee table book of 51 CAWACH-funded start-ups.

According to Dr. Jitendra Singh, India ranks third among the most appealing investment destinations for technology transactions in the world due to its strong focus on science and technology. He stated that India is one of the top five countries in the world for scientific research, is one of the top five nations for space exploration, and is also actively engaged in emerging technologies such as quantum technologies, artificial intelligence, and so on.

Dr. Jitendra Singh stated that India has increased its global ranking on the Global Innovation Index (GII) from 81st in 2015 to 46th in 2021 among 130 economies worldwide. In terms of GII, India ranks second among 34 lower-middle-income economies and first among 10 Central and Southern Asian economies. The Minister added that the consistent improvement in the GII ranking is due to the enormous knowledge capital, the vibrant start-up ecosystem, and some outstanding work done by public and private research organizations.

Dr. Jitendra Singh congratulated the organizers, Team DST, Champions of Innovation from across the country - Startups, Incubators, Incubator Association ISBA - and wished them a great success for their ongoing efforts to catalyze our great country's growth story and make the DST Startup Utsav a great success.