By Bl Ahmedabad Bureau
Copyright thehindubusinessline
India will be among the top 10 countries on the Global Innovation Index (GII) in the next three years, said Amit Shah, Union Minister for Home and Cooperation while inaugurating a “Startup Conclave 2025” in Gujarat, Tuesday.
“A few days ago the (latest) Global Innovation Index was announced… In 2015, our ranking on this index was 91. Today in 2025, we are at the 38th rank, and it is indicative of our potential. The way our youth have performed and showcased their abilities, India will be among the top 10 countries on the Global Innovation Index in the next three years,” said Shah at the event in State capital Gandhinagar, where stakeholders from India’s startup ecosystem were present. In 2024, India was placed 39th on this index, which features 133 global economies. GII is published by World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), an United Nations agency that serves the world’s creators and innovators.
Shah said the startup ecosystem in India has grown from 500 startup entities in 2014 to 1.92 lakh DPIIT-recognised startups in 2025. “This is more than 380-fold growth,” he said, adding that the number of unicorns in the country grew from four in 2014 to more than 120 with a total value of more than ₹350 billion. The Union minister said there were 21,000 start-ups in the Information Technology sector, 17,000 startups in healthcare and 11,000 startups each in agriculture and education sectors.
Pointing out that startups have reached in Tier-II and Tier-III cities and one lakh startups, Shah said, “This shows that India’s startup ecosystem has become strong.” He said 48 percent of the startups have been founded by women and in the North-east there were 900 startups run by women.
“Startup ecosystem has employed 17.90 lakh and on an average 17,000 have been set up annually and 9,000 of these are in Tier-II and Tier-III cities.,” Shah added. Talking about startups in states, Shah said Gujarat stands among the top five states with a total of 16,000 startups.
Published on September 23, 2025
