In a first, Delhi has replaced Bengaluru as the start-up capital of India by adding more start-ups in the last two years, the Economic Survey 2021-22 revealed on Monday, January 31. Over 5,000 recognised start-ups were added in Delhi, while 4,514 start-ups were added in Bengaluru between April 2019 and December 2021, according to the survey document.

Maharashtra has the highest number of recognised start-ups at 11,308. India now has more than 61,400 start-ups recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). At least 14,000 recognised start-ups have been added in 2021-22 fiscal, according to the survey.

The Economic Survey also mentioned that intellectual properties, specifically patents, are key to a knowledge-based economy. "The number of patents filed in India went up to 58,502 in 2020-21 from 39,400 in 2010-11, and the patents granted in India have gone up to 28,391 from 7,509 during the same period," noted the survey.

Start-ups in India have grown remarkably over the last six years with the number of new recognised start-ups increasing to over 14,000 in 2021-22 from only 733 in 2016-17. The Economic Survey also highlighted several high-profile IPOs by start-ups.

"In April-November 2021, Rs 89,066 crore was raised through 75 IPO issues, much higher than in any year in the last decade," it said. However, the shares of Zomato, Nykaa and PolicyBazaar have failed to maintain an uptrend after being able to garner strong listing gains. These stocks have come off their initial highs since their market debut. Notably, all three new-age companies made their debut on the exchanges in 2021.

India now has 83 unicorns, most of which are in the services sector, and 44 start-ups achieved the unicorn status (values more than $1 billion) last year. The 83 unicorns are now valued at $277.7 billion.