Lok Sabha Question No. 1648 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-10
Subject: Initiatives to Help Technology Startups reach Unicorn
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Krishna Prasad Tenneti, Shri P C Mohan, Shri Bidyut Baran Mahato, Dr. Hemang Joshi, Shri Dilip Saikia, Dr. Hemant Vishnu Savara, Shri P P Chaudhary, Smt. Roopkumari Choudhary, Shri Dineshbhai Makwana

†1648.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

## DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1648 ANSWERED ON 10/12/2025

INITIATIVES TO HELP TECHNOLOGY STARTUPS REACH UNICORN SHRI DILIP SAIKIA:

SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO:

SHRI KRISHNA PRASAD TENNETI:

SHRI P C MOHAN:

DR. HEMANG JOSHI:

SMT. ROOPKUMARI CHOUDHARY:

SHRI P P CHAUDHARY:

SHRI DINESHBHAI MAKWANA:

DR. HEMANT VISHNU SAVARA:

Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the Government  has  launched  any  initiatives to support technology  Startups  to  help  them  grow  and  achieve  Unicorn  status  in  the country,  State  and  district-wise  particularly  in  Bengaluru  in  Karnataka  and Palghar in Maharashtra and Rajasthan;
- (b) if so, the details of such initiatives, including incubation support, funding assistance, research and innovation schemes and other programmes implemented through the Department of Science and Technology (DST) along with the names of Startups that have achieved significant growth as a result thereof,  States  and  district-wise  particularly  in  Bengaluru  in  Karnataka  and Palghar in Maharashtra and Rajasthan;
- (c) the impact of these initiatives on strengthening the country's startups innovation and ecosystem including job creation, development and industryacademia collaboration;
- (d) the manner in which integrated support is being provided to technology Startups regarding mentoring, capital access, entry to international markets and innovation in the field of emerging technologies including Al, Deep Tech, Semiconductor,  Space  Tech  through  initiatives  like  'Startup  India',  Fund  of Funds Scheme (FFS), Startup India Seed Fund Scheme, Digital India Startup Hub,  National  Research  Funding  (NRF)  and  Centre-State  Startup  Grid  to strengthen Unicorn growth at the national level; and
- (e) the number of Startups that have benefitted directly from the said national initiatives towards becoming Unicorns?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

- (a) to (c): The Government has been actively supporting creation of conducive ecosystem  for  innovators,  entrepreneurs  and  startups  through  its  various

schemes and initiatives across the country, including in the state of Karnataka,

Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

The Government has launched the Research Development and Innovation (RDI)  scheme  to  support  cutting  edge  technology,  deep-tech  projects  and startups. The main objectives of the RDI scheme are to encourage the private sector  to  scale  up  research,  development  and  innovation  (RDI),  finance transformative projects, support acquisition of technologies which are critical or of high strategic importance and facilitate setting up of Deep-Tech Fund of Funds. The scheme is led by the Department of Science & Technology (DST) as the nodal department. With an outlay of Rs. 1 lakh crore in next 6 years, the RDI scheme targets sunrise sectors including energy security and transition, and climate  action;  deep-technology  including  quantum computing,  robotics  and space;  artificial  intelligence  and  its  application  in  agriculture,  health  and pharma, education; biotechnology, biomanufacturing, synthetic biology, medical devices; and digital economy including digital agriculture.

Under the National Quantum Mission (NQM), DST has actively supported startups working in the domain of quantum technologies, specifically quantum computing, quantum communication, quantum sensing, and quantum materials & devices. The Mission is to support an expanding pool of quantum startups, provide them appropriate funding, give access to advanced infrastructure, and provide  mentorship  opportunities  through  partnerships  with  industry.  Under NQM, financial support has been provided to seven startups in the different areas of Quantum Technologies.

DST  is  implementing  the  National  Mission  on  Interdisciplinary  Cyber Physical Systems (NM-ICPS), which was approved by the Union Cabinet with an outlay of Rs. 3660 crore. Under this mission, 25 Technology Innovation Hubs (TIHs)  have  been  established  in  reputed  academic  institutions  across  the country.  Each  TIH  specializes  in  advanced  technology  domains  such  as Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML), Robotics, Internet of Things (IoT),  Cybersecurity,  Quantum  Technologies,  FinTech,  etc.  More  than  800 Startups  have  been  benefitted under  the  mission.  I-HUB  for  Robotics  and Autonomous  Systems  Innovation  Foundation  at  Indian  Institute  of  Science (IISc),  Bengaluru  and  IIITB  Comet  Foundation  at  International  Institute  of Information Technology (IIIT), Bengaluru have been established in the state Karnataka;  I-Hub  Quantum  Technology  Foundation  at  Indian  Institute  of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune and TIH Foundation for IOT and IOE at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay have been established in the  state  of  Maharashtra;  IHUB  Drishti  Foundation  at  Indian  Institute  of Technology (IIT), Jodhpur and BITS BioCYTiH Foundation at Birla Institute of Technology & Science Pilani have been established in Rajasthan. These six TIH

have cumulatively supported 160 startups in cutting edge R&D.

DST through 'NIDHI' (National Initiative  for  Developing  and  Harnessing Innovations)  program  has  extended  end-to-end  startup  support  to  nurture startups from ideation to commercialization. It includes a variety of program components  for  Startups  like  PRAYAS  -  prototyping  grant  for  early-stage

innovative ideas, hand-holding support to startups through Technology Business Incubators, seed funding and acceleration support for rapid scaling of startup businesses. Under NIDHI-PRAYAS program 2,254 innovators/startups have been supported, with sanctioned funding of ₹173.27 crore. Out of these 2254 innovators/startups, 381 are from Karnataka, 312 from Maharashtra and 56 from Rajasthan. Around Rs. 1400 crore has been provided through NIDHI program to network of DST established academic incubators for creating an ecosystem for supporting science & technology (S&T) based startups. Over 12000  startups  have  benefited  from  the  DST  supported  programs.  DST  has established 17 incubation centres in the state of Karnataka, 14 in the state of Maharashtra, and 4 in the state of Rajasthan, to provide comprehensive support and help startups progress in their idea to commercialization journey.

The  Anusandhan  National  research  Foundation  (ANRF)  under  DST  has been  able  to  strengthen  Industry-Academia  linkages  through  their  various programs.  One  of  the  key  mechanisms  adopted  to  bridge  the  gap  between academic research and market-appropriate products is the structured support across Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs). Under the new framework, ANRF is supporting research from basic and early-stage development, i.e. up to TRL4, while the RDI scheme is mandated to support projects from TRL-4 and above, to  advance  prototypes,  pilot  demonstrations,  and  scale-up  activities.  This coordinated approach enables a smooth transition from laboratory research to commercially deployable technologies.

(d) to (e): Under the Startup India initiative launched in 2016, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has provided a platform for registering Indian startups. As on 31st October 2025, 1,97,692 entities have been recognized as startups by DPIIT which have reported to have created over 21.11 lakh direct jobs. Under  Startup  India initiative,  the  Government constantly undertakes various efforts to support startups across industries and sectors.  The  flagship  Schemes  namely,  Fund  of  Funds  for  Startups  (FFS), Startup  India  Seed  Fund  Scheme  (SISFS)  and  Credit  Guarantee  Scheme  for Startups (CGSS) support startups at various stages of their business cycle.

The  Biotechnology  Industry  Research  Assistance  Council  (BIRAC)  has been providing early-stage funding to biotech startups and entrepreneurs under Biotechnology  Ignition  Grant  (BIG)  scheme  and  BioNEST  (Bio-Incubators Nurturing Entrepreneurship for Scaling Technologies). BIRAC  has been instrumental  in  building  a  vibrant  biotech  innovation  ecosystem  in  India. Through Public-Private Partnerships, it has undertaken a multitude of activities, ranging from funding high-risk translational research, supporting nascent ideas and  establishing  specialised  bio-incubation  centres.  BioNEST  &  E-YUVA centres have supported over 2,700 incubatees & students. More than 1,300 Intellectual  Properties  (IP)  have  been  filed  by  the  incubatees,  and  over  800 products have been developed, reaching various stages of market deployment.

Ministry  of  Electronics  and  Information  Technology  (MeitY)  has  been providing  financial  and  technical  support  under  Technology  Incubation  and

Development  of  Entrepreneurs  (TIDE)  and  Gen-Next  Support  for  Innovative Startup (GENESIS) schemes to Deep Tech startups in the domain of Electronics and ICT domain. Department of Space (DoS) has established Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe), which is driving India's

Space startup ecosystem.

Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), was launched in 2018 to foster innovation  &  technology  development  in  Defence  &  Aerospace  by  engaging industries including Startups/ MSMEs/ Individual Innovators, R&D institute and Academia. iDEX provides grants and other support to iDEX winners (Startups/SMEs) to carry out R&D which has potential for Indian Defence and Aerospace needs.

DST  has  supported  a  NIDHI  Centre  of  Excellence  in  AI/ML  at  T-Hub, Hyderabad  which  is  a  Technology  Hub  established  by  the  Government  of Telangana. Similarly, Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has established BioTechnology Parks in partnership with state governments. Such Centre-State collaboration  to  promote  innovation  in  cutting  edge  technologies,  have strengthen Unicorn growth at the national level.

The Government has also implemented periodic activities and programs with  States  such  as  State  Startup  Ranking,  State  Startup  Policy,  National Startup  Awards  etc.  which  have  played  an  important  role  in  establishing synergies  between  the  centre  and  different  states,  and  in  the  holistic development  of  the  startup  ecosystem  in  the  country.  The  S&T  based entrepreneurial infrastructure and strong support mechanisms created by the Government  during  the  last  10  years  such  as  translational  research  hubs, startup incubators, research labs, fabrication facilities, generous support from ideation to Proof of Concept (POC), seed funding to acceleration, assistance in raising external funding, etc has provided seamless opportunities to students and  innovators  to  take  up  entrepreneurship  as  career  and  own  innovative ventures.

The  initiatives  of  Government  have  significantly  strengthened  India's startup  and  innovation  ecosystem  by  improving  access  to  capital,  easing regulatory barriers, and expanding incubation infrastructure. They have also fostered wider economic development by promoting entrepreneurship beyond major cities. In their journey, four of the DST supported startups have reached to Unicorn status. Some of the startups supported under DST programs who have attained tangible scale are QuNu Labs, QpiAI, Ather Energy, IdeaForge, Razorpay, Uniphore, FarEye, Lauras Labs, Gupshup, Atomberg, Agnikul, Offgrid Energy Labs, etc.

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