State-wise startup landscape 2026: DPIIT-recognised startups and jobs by state

Which states have the most DPIIT-recognised startups?

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry's release of 17 April 2026 gives state-wise figures for the ten largest startup states as of 31 March 2026. Maharashtra is the clear leader with more than 38,660 recognised startups, or roughly 17% of the national total of 2.23 lakh+. Karnataka is second at 22,600+, and Uttar Pradesh has moved into third place at 21,960+, ahead of Delhi at 21,120+.

The release states that recognised startups are present in every state and union territory, but it publishes numbers only for the top ten. We have not estimated figures for the remaining states.

How much did each state add in the last quarter of FY 2025-26?

Comparing the DPIIT figures reported for end-December 2025 with the official 31 March 2026 numbers shows where the record final quarter came from. Maharashtra added at least 2,668 recognitions in three months, Uttar Pradesh about 1,800, Gujarat about 1,580, Karnataka about 1,440, Delhi about 1,200 and Tamil Nadu about 1,050. The national count rose from 2,07,135 to 2.23 lakh+, an increase of roughly 16,000 in one quarter.

The December 2025 figures come from DPIIT data as reported by The Federal, and the March figures are rounded 'more than' values from the official release, so the quarterly additions are approximate lower bounds rather than exact counts.

How fast did recognitions grow in FY 2025-26?

DPIIT recognised more than 55,200 startups in FY 2025-26, the highest in any single year since Startup India launched in January 2016. That compares with 36,400+ in FY 2024-25, a rise of 51.6%. Recognised startups reported creating 4,99,400+ direct jobs during the year, up 36.1% from 3,66,870+ the year before.

For context, The Federal reported DPIIT data showing 2,07,135 recognised startups at the end of December 2025, and a Lok Sabha reply put the count at 2,12,283 on 31 January 2026. The jump to 2.23 lakh+ by 31 March 2026 is consistent with a strong final quarter of recognitions.

What does the state ranking tell founders?

The top five states (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Gujarat) together account for about 1.24 lakh startups, roughly 55% of the national base. Mumbai and Pune drive Maharashtra, Bengaluru drives Karnataka, while Uttar Pradesh's count benefits heavily from Noida and the wider NCR. Delhi's figure should be read alongside Haryana (Gurugram) and Uttar Pradesh, since many NCR founders register in whichever state hosts their registered office.

Jobs per startup also differ. Using the release's own numbers, Maharashtra averages about 10.7 reported direct jobs per recognised startup, Delhi about 11.2 and Haryana about 12.0, while Kerala is closer to 8.6. These are simple averages of self-reported figures and say nothing about the median startup, which is usually far smaller.

How has the state ranking shifted since 2022?

In July 2022 Business Standard reported DPIIT data showing Maharashtra on top with 13,541 recognised startups. Its count has nearly tripled since then. The more notable shift is in the chasing pack: Uttar Pradesh has overtaken Delhi, and Telangana, Haryana, Kerala and Rajasthan now each have more than 8,000 recognised startups.

DPIIT recognition is a voluntary registration that unlocks benefits such as the tax-holiday application route, self-certification under certain labour and environment laws and faster patent examination. A rising count reflects both new company formation and more founders applying for recognition, so it is not a pure measure of new businesses.

Does the state of registration matter for a startup?

The state in which your registered office sits decides which Registrar of Companies has jurisdiction, which state's stamp duty applies on incorporation documents and share issues, and whether professional tax applies to your payroll. It also decides which state startup policy you can use. Many states offer their own incentives to DPIIT-recognised startups, such as reimbursement of patent costs, seed grants or lease subsidies, and these vary widely.

DPIIT recognition itself is uniform nationwide. A startup can move its registered office between states later, but a shift across states needs approval from the Regional Director and changes to GST and other registrations, so choose the base state with some care at the outset.

What support numbers came with the FY 2025-26 data?

The same release reported that the Fund of Funds for Startups had disbursed over ₹7,000 crore to 135+ AIFs by the end of FY 2025-26, and those AIFs had invested over ₹26,900 crore in 1,420+ startups. A second Fund of Funds with a ₹10,000 crore corpus has been notified. Under the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups, 410+ loans worth over ₹1,250 crore have been guaranteed, and the per-borrower cover was raised from ₹10 crore to ₹20 crore.

The Startup India Seed Fund Scheme has committed its full ₹945 crore corpus through 219 incubators, with over ₹605 crore approved for 3,400+ startups. Startups filed 4,480+ patent applications in FY 2025-26, up from 2,850+ the year before.

Public procurement is another channel. 38,600+ startups have onboarded on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM). Onboardings rose from 5,140+ in FY 2024-25 to 6,540+ in FY 2025-26, and startups received 1,40,260+ orders worth over ₹19,190 crore in FY 2025-26, up from 1,19,620+ orders worth over ₹14,103 crore the year before.