Start-ups is coming back to India after the removal of the angel tax, highlighting positive changes in the business landscape, said Amardeep Singh Bhatia, Secretary, Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
DPIIT works to increase capital inflow through various efforts, including collaborations with international partners and financing systems to support startup ecosystem.
In July 2024, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman abolished the “angel tax” to strengthen the entrepreneurial spirit and support innovation when she presented Budget 2024-2025 in the Riksdag. The angel tax treated investments received by startups from outside investors as “income from other sources” and taxed them at 30%. Often short of money, startups tend to lose money because angel taxes would require them to share a significant portion of the investment to pay taxes.
DPIIT is actively strengthening capital flow with several initiatives, such as partnerships with foreign organizations and funding programs to strengthen the startup ecosystem. In addition, local startups has generated more than 1.6 million jobswith DPIIT officially recognizing 157,000 startups on December 25.
The South Asian powerhouse boasts over 73,000 start-ups with at least one female director. Driven by affordable internet access and a youthful workforce, India’s thriving ecosystem has produced over 100 unicorns and played a critical role in shaping global innovation.
9 years of the Startup India initiative
On January 16, 2025, India celebrated nine years of Startup India. Designated as National Startup Day, this occasion celebrates the country’s progress in fostering a robust and inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“Startups in fintech, edtech, health tech and e-commerce have tackled local challenges and gained global recognition. Companies like Zomato, Nykaa and Ola showcase India’s shift from job seekers to job creators, driving economic progress,” said the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement.
India has established itself as the third largest startup ecosystem in the world. Powered by over 100 unicorns, this vibrant ecosystem continues to redefine innovation and entrepreneurship on the global stage.
By Startup India initiativeDPIIT has implemented various projects and implemented recurring models to drive the local startup ecosystem. Eligible companies can be recognized as startups by DPIIT and benefit from benefits such as tax exemption, simplified compliance and expedited intellectual property processes.
“StartUp India has given wings to the aspirations of so many youth,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in January 2025, marking the ninth anniversary of the Startup India initiative.
“The good news is: small towns are increasingly becoming startup hubs. Equally happy to see women taking the lead in so many startups,” Modi said. “Sectors like waste management, non-renewable energy, biotech and logistics are experiencing the maximum number of startups.”
The government has too urged startups to use “Entity Locker”, enabling startups to securely store and access important business documents at any time, reducing reliance on physical files.
National eGovernance Division (NeGD), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has developed Entity Lockera cutting-edge digital platform designed to transform the management and verification of business/organizational documents.
Entity Locker is a secure, cloud-based platform that simplifies document storage, sharing and verification for various entities, including startups, SMEs and trusts. It supports India’s Digital public infrastructure goal and Union Budget 2024-25 vision for improved digital governance. The platform integrates with government systems and offers real-time document access and verification, consent-based secure information sharing, 10 GB of encrypted cloud storage, and legally valid digital signatures.
As part of the Digital India programme, Entity Locker demonstrates how technology can be used innovatively to address complex administrative challenges and drive economic growth.
NetraDyne first unicorn in 2025
NetraDyne, a logistics provider artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, has become first unicorn in 2025 in India’s startup ecosystem after securing $90 million in its Series D funding round, led by its existing investor, Point72 Private Investments. Avneesh Agrawal, co-founder and CEO of NetraDyne, said that the funding round pushed the startup’s post-money valuation to $1.34 billion.
Netradyne is focused on AI-powered security and video telematics solutions for the fleet.
“The successful completion of our Series D funding round is an important milestone for Netradyne and a testament to the confidence our investors have in our vision and innovative approach to AI-powered fleet safety solutions.” Agrawal said in a statement.
“This funding gives us the resources to accelerate growth, expand our technology capabilities and deliver even greater value to our customers worldwide,” added Agrawal.
Before this, Netradyne raised $65 million by 2022 from Silicon Valley Bank through a combination of debt and equity, with a valuation of just under $1 billion. Including the latest funding round, the company has secured a total of USD 317 million across four funding rounds from investors such as Reliance, M12, SoftBank (NASDAQ: SFTBF), Qualcomm Ventures and Pavilion Capital, among others.
Founded in 2015, Netradyne now serves over 3,000 customers and 450,000 active subscribers in the US, Canada, Mexico, Germany, UK, Australia, New Zealand and India, with plans to expand to Europe and Japan. Its clients include major players in retail, food, oil and gas, transportation, utilities, field services, transit and construction.
Walmart initiative with startups
Global retailer, Walmart (NASDAQ: WMT), has announced lawsuits with three India-based startups to explore solutions for its US supply chain and procurement operations. The startups – Pune’s KBCols Sciences, Chennai’s GreenPod Labs and Bengaluru’s Cropin – were selected after their participation in Walmart’s Growth Summit last year.
These pilot programs aims to improve product availabilityreduce waste and develop sustainable alternatives for manufacturing processes, such as replacing synthetic textile dyes to reduce environmental impact.
Cropin, a Bengaluru-based AgTech platform, provides AI-powered insights into yields, productivity, resource optimization and consistent crop quality. The pilot will test this technology on produce supply chains, potentially improving efficiency in purchasing fresh produce, improving data accuracy and reducing waste. This initiative, part of Walmart Global Tech’s Sparkubate program, will help startups scale their solutions to address key retail challenges.
Watch: India to be a leader in digitization
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