Number of startups in India grew 40% year-on-year, created 80k jobs

Photo credit: Maciej Dakowicz.

The Union Budget of India, which is the country’s annual financial statement, will be presented in parliament on Monday. As a precursor to that, the Indian finance minister, Arun Jaitley, today released the annual economic survey. The good news is that the country’s GDP is on track to grow by 7.6 percent in the financial year 2015-16, which makes it the fastest growing economy in the world. Earlier, the World Bank had projected a growth rate of 7.3 percent.

What’s more, the economic survey anticipates the growth rate to cross 8 percent within two years, despite the headwinds it is facing due to a weak global economy. “The Indian market has rebounded time and time again, and it is hoped that as the global financial markets settle down, India can become the world’s leading investment destination,” says the survey.

Ecommerce grows at 21.4% to reach $17 billion

Photo credit: Pixabay

Interestingly, this year’s survey devotes considerable space to the rising startup scene in the country, prompted no doubt by the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi’s Startup India Standup India initiative. Here are some highlights from the survey:

• More than 2,000 tech startups received funding from VCs or angels since 2010. As many as 1,005 of those were born in 2015.
• In all, there are 19,400 tech startups in the country. Out of these, 5,000 were started in 2015 alone.
• 8 startups were unicorns, with valuations over US$1 billion, as of the end of 2015.
• Ecommerce, which has been the main playfield for startups, is projected to grow by 21.4 percent in financial year 2015-16 to reach US$17 billion.

“India has clearly evolved to become the third largest base of technology startups in the world. Within one year, the number of startups have grown by 40 percent, creating 80,000-85,000 jobs in 2015. This emerging sector is set to get a fillip with the Startup India program,” says the survey.

India’s startups will be waiting with bated breath to see the shape of the promised fillip in the budget on Monday. Better infrastructure, ease of doing business, and a startup-friendly tax regime will be at the top of their minds. In the past, India’s leaders have been quick to make promises but slow to take action.

See: Something’s rotten in India’s startup scene – and it’s time to call it out