New Delhi, March 17 (IANS) Among 2.12 lakh entities recognised as startups by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, over 1.02 lakh of those entities have at least one‑woman director or partner, the government said on Tuesday.

Ministry of Corporate Affairs data shows 6,789 recognised startups as closed, of which 2,950 had at least one‑woman director or partner, MoS, Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada said in Lok Sabha.

As on January 31, 2026, supported Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) which in turn invest in startups have invested around Rs. 25,859 crore in selected startups. Further, from 2020 onwards, around Rs. 2,995 crore have been invested in women-led startups by AIFs under the scheme, the statement from Ministry of Commerce & Industry said.

The Startup India Seed Fund Scheme, since 2021, has approved around Rs. 592 crore for selected startups, with about Rs. 294 crore earmarked for women‑led ventures, the statement further said.

The Startup India initiative was launched in January 2016, to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation, startups and encouraging investments in the startup ecosystem of the country.

Under the Startup India initiative, the government is implementing flagship Schemes such as Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) to support startups across categories at various stages of their business cycle.

The Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups, operational since April 2023, has guaranteed loans of around Rs 925 crore to startup borrowers, including about Rs 39 crore for women‑led startups, it added.

Indian tech start-ups raised $9.1 billion in 2025, up 23 per cent year-on-year, with funding becoming more selective and milestone-linked, a recent report said.

India’s technology start-up ecosystem is moving from volume-driven expansion to execution-led maturity, as capital was concentrated in scalable, commercialisation-ready ventures, it added.

—IANS

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