Amit Shah inaugurates Startup Conclave 2025 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat
GANDHINAGAR : Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah, inaugurated the Startup Conclave 2025 here in Gujarat on Tuesday. The Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Bhupendra Patel and several dignitaries were present on the occasion. Shri Amit Shah said India’s ranking on the Global Innovation Index has gone up from 91 to 38 in the last decade, and expressed confidence that it would secure a position among the top 10 in the next three years.
The Startup India campaign launched under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s leadership has started showing results as India now has the third largest startup ecosystem globally, and has made the country’s youth job creators from job seekers, he said.
Prime Minister hails startup growth in India
Mr. Shah was speaking at the inauguration of the Gujarat government’s Startup Conclave here.
“Recently, the Global Innovation Index was announced. In 2015, our ranking on this index was 91 but we have jumped to 38th rank in 2025. This indicates the potential that our people have. I am a firm believer that India will be among the top 10 countries in the next three years and dominate innovation in the world looking at the performance and abilities of our youth,” he said.
The Startup India scheme is the Indian government’s flagship initiative launched in 2016 to promote innovation and create a robust startup ecosystem, transforming India from a job-seeking to a job-creating nation.
“In 2014, we just had 500 startups. Today, we have 1.92 lakh startups registered with DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade). In 2014, we had four unicorns and now we have 120 such establishments whose combined market value is over $350 million,” Mr. Shah said.
Today, out of the total startups, 52% are in tier-II and tier-III cities. Of the total startups, 48% are initiated by women, he said.
Startup ecosystem has employed 17.90 lakh people. On an average, 17,000 startups have been set up annually and 9,000 of these are in tier-II and tier-III cities, the Union minister said. Startup India campaign has made our youth job creators from job seekers, he said. Mr. Shah said at the time of launch of Startup India scheme, the government was aware that it will not be a success if proper environment is not created for the same.
“Under the Prime Minister’s leadership, financial, infrastructure, policy and banking support has been made available to startups across the country since 2014. A fund of funds of ₹10,000 crore has been created to help startups. To promote startups, the maximum loan limit has been increased from ₹10 crore to ₹20 crore, and various tax concessions have also been given,” he said.
He urged industry leaders to invest in startups, saying that one of them may turn into a unicorn one day and increase your wealth. Mr. Shah further said that for the last four years, Gujarat has been leading the country in the startup sector.
Shri Amit Shah said that apart from Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, no one else could have simplified and reformed GST. After a long time, the country has seen a leader like Prime Minister Modi in whom both taxpayers and the public can place their trust. He noted that Prime Minister Modi, with great courage and by taking all states along, successfully implemented GST. GST collections began at ₹80,000 crore and today have crossed over ₹2 lakh crore. Shri Shah added that under GST reforms, Prime Minister Modi reduced the prices of many items by half, by one-third, and even to zero in some cases. Through GST reforms, Prime Minister Modi has shown the public that the government’s purpose is to raise revenue to run the country, not to exploit the people.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and his team of Ministers and government officials have jointly made Gujarat the center of the startup revolution. State is one of the top five States in the country. 16,000 startups are in Gujarat. Ahmedabad city alone is in the top-4 cities with 6,650 startups. Gujarat has become the best performing State in the startup sector for four consecutive years, he said.
Union Home Minister said that Gujarat has consistently ranked first in the country for startups for the past four years. He praised Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel for effectively implementing Prime Minister Modi’s vision on the ground, turning Gujarat into the center of the startup revolution. With 16,000 startups, Gujarat is among the top five states in the country, and with 6,650 startups, Ahmedabad is among the top four cities. Shri Shah noted that startups are the leading sector among emerging industries in India, and that Prime Minister Modi had envisioned enhancing the speed, size, scope, and scale of this sector — a vision now being realized. He emphasized that where there is the capability to harness talent, the Government of India under Prime Minister Modi and the Government of Gujarat under Shri Bhupendra Patel stand firmly with the youth like a rock. He added that both leaders are providing every possible support to turn the dreams of young people into reality. Shri Shah concluded that the backbone of Prime Minister Modi’s vision of New India is the youth and the startup ecosystem.