LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday launched the Uttar Pradesh Startup Mission portal and the Uttar Pradesh Startup Policy-2026, saying the state now has more than 24,000 startups, including eight unicorns.
At the launch event, incentives worth over Rs 3.42 crore were distributed among 107 startups, while nine incubators received Rs 1.79 crore. Recognition certificates were also presented to newly established incubators.
Adityanath said the new initiatives were aimed at providing young entrepreneurs with funding, incubation support and platforms to develop their ideas and expand their businesses.
“We have gathered here to give a flight to the dreams of the youth of Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
The chief minister said India’s startup ecosystem had expanded from around 500 startups before 2014 to more than 2.5 lakh at present. In Uttar Pradesh, the number increased from 120 before 2017 to over 24,000, with eight startups achieving unicorn status, he said.
Adityanath said the growth of startups was also contributing to a change in the perception of Uttar Pradesh.
Recalling the situation before 2017, he said the state was often associated with poor roads, prolonged closure of educational institutions and markets, stone-pelting and curfews. “The perception was that where potholes on the roads begin and darkness starts after sunset, the Uttar Pradesh border has arrived,” he said.
He claimed that more than 700 major riots had occurred in the state in the five years before 2017, making discussions on employment, education, innovation and incubators “a dream”.
Adityanath said education, employment, startups and incubation were closely linked and required an ecosystem built on public confidence, government commitment and appropriate policies.
The state’s population of around 25 crore should be seen as a demographic advantage rather than a challenge, he said.
“If you say that the population of Uttar Pradesh will be a challenge for the state, I say no; it is our demographic dividend,” he said.
The chief minister said Uttar Pradesh had a young and talented workforce and the government’s responsibility was to create opportunities for them. He also highlighted the participation of women in the startup ecosystem, saying around half of the startups were being run by women.
He said the state government had backed proposals from institutions such as IIT Kanpur, IIT-BHU and IIITs to promote entrepreneurship and innovation. Additional incentives had recently been introduced for new startups, while a separate fund had been created for universities to encourage research and innovation, he added.
Adityanath claimed that Uttar Pradesh had moved from being among the country’s bottom three economies before 2017 to becoming one of the top three. Over the past nine years, the state’s economy, per capita income and women’s workforce participation had tripled, he said.
He further claimed that the number of large industries in the state had nearly tripled from around 12,000.
“This is the new Uttar Pradesh, which is not going to retreat and is rapidly establishing itself as one of the country’s fastest-growing economies,” he said.
The government is also supporting Centres of Excellence in emerging sectors such as medtech, drone technology, quantum computing, space technology, robotics and green hydrogen, the chief minister said.
He added that the government was prepared to increase its Fund of Funds, provide land to startups on lease and make plug-and-play facilities available to entrepreneurs.
“But you will have to move forward with greater speed to strengthen this startup ecosystem and give wings to the dreams of today’s youth,” Adityanath said.
The state now has adequate land, improved security and a dedicated startup policy, he said, asserting that Uttar Pradesh had moved beyond what he described as “policy paralysis”.
“Today, Uttar Pradesh has emerged from policy paralysis. We have a dedicated policy, and the state is free from curfews and stone-pelting,” he said.