In 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced January 16 as the National Startup Day, to celebrate the spirit of the Indian startup ecosystem. The importance of January 16 is that it was the founding day of the Startup India initiative.
According to its website, Startup India is a flagship initiative of the Government of India, intended to catalyse startup culture and build a strong and inclusive ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship in India. An action plan was also unveiled by Prime Minister Modi, which comprises 19 action items spanning areas such as ‘simplification and handholding,’ ‘funding support and incentives’ and ‘industry-academia partnership and incubation.’
To mark the occasion, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is also organising the Startup India Innovation Week from January 10-16.
While the DPIIT heads the initiative, five government departments — the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Ministry of Labour and Employment, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), and NITI Aayog — are primarily responsible for the initiatives under Startup India. Currently, there are over 88,000 startups recognised by the DPIIT.
This year celebrates the seventh anniversary of the Startup India initiative and along with several on-ground events by the department, webinars are also being hosted which are being livestreamed on all of Startup India’s social media handles.
The results of the National Startups Awards 2022 will also be announced on January 16. The awards identify and celebrate innovations across 17 sectors, 50 sub-sectors and seven special categories. The results will be announced by Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles.
