UP govt injects ₹140 crore to boost startups, innovation ecosystem

The Uttar Pradesh (UP) government has injected financial support of almost  ₹140 crore to promote the startup ecosystem and support innovation.

 

With more than 17,000 startups, UP is among the leading states in terms of the highest number of active startups in India. 

 

The state has set up a network of 72 incubators and seven centres of excellence (CoE) to catalyse startups, promote business culture and generate jobs for the youth.

 

The startups have been contributing immensely in domains such as healthcare, agriculture, biotechnology, UP Chief Minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath has said, stressing for the youth to become job creators, not job seekers.

 

The CM claimed UP is becoming a global tech and innovation hub, and the ecosystem of startups will fortify 'Atmanirbhar' India.

 

He had said earlier that research was confined to labs, but now efforts are being made to foster the concept of ‘lab to land’ and ‘lab to industry’ so that innovation is translated into agriculture and industry.

 

“This collaborative spirit will connect startups to the market,” Adityanath said while addressing a recent ‘Startup Conclave 2025’ in Lucknow.

 

In 2018, the UP government launched the One District, One Product (ODOP) scheme to boost traditional industries by connecting them to technology, design, packaging and markets.

 

E-commerce major Flipkart has partnered with UP to promote ODOP products, including Khadi, leather goods, carpets, agricultural products, potteries etc., the company's Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Rajneesh Kumar said.

 

He said the company also trains UP micro entrepreneurs, startups, artisans and women self- help groups (SHG) to scale up their business ventures by harnessing the digital marketplace.

 

The government is also showcasing UP as a preferred investment destination and a frontrunner in the ‘ease of doing business’ metric, framing proactive policies to handhold entrepreneurs and scientists to gain market traction.

 

Underlining the startup-research interplay, Adityanath said, “Every research should become a product; every product an industry; and every industry the strength of India. This is the mantra of a developed India.”

 

Smaller towns in UP account for roughly 35 per cent of the total startups in the state.Noida, Lucknow, Ghaziabad and Kanpur are among the top cities in terms of registered startups.

 

Some of the leading startups and unicorns incorporated in UP include Pine Labs, Spice Money Ltd, Paytm Payments Bank, Advisorymandi, OneCode, Wishfin, GramCover, Marquee Equity, Buddy4Study etc, IndiaMart, Info Edge, PhysicsWallah etc.