Delhi govt launches Startup Yuva Festival, urges students to drive innovation

New Delhi, The Delhi government on Friday launched the Delhi Startup Yuva Festival 2026 at Netaji Subhas University of Technology, with Education Minister Ashish Sood describing students as key drivers of innovation and calling for stronger links between campuses and markets.

Addressing students, mentors and industry representatives, Sood said universities are no longer limited to academic instruction and are increasingly emerging as centres of entrepreneurship and innovation.

He said the festival aims to encourage students to convert ideas developed on campuses into market-ready products.

Referring to India's startup ecosystem, the minister said the country had a limited presence in the sector before 2014, but has since witnessed rapid growth. India now has close to 125 unicorns and over 1.97 lakh DPIIT-recognised startups, making it the world's third-largest startup ecosystem, attributing the expansion to policy-driven reforms.

Sood said that nearly 45 per cent of Indian startups are led by women, calling entrepreneurship an effective tool for social and economic transformation. He said women-led enterprises have contributed to wider community development by generating employment and promoting inclusive growth.

The minister said the Delhi government, under Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, is working to position the capital as a hub for student-led innovation.

He added that the Startup Yuva Festival would be developed into an annual platform bringing together educational institutions, mentors, investors and industry stakeholders.

According to the minister, over 75,000 students are currently participating in Delhi government-supported entrepreneurship programmes, with an annual growth rate of around 30 per cent.

More than 470 startups are being incubated across sectors such as healthcare, sustainability and manufacturing, he said, adding that early-stage startups are generating four to five jobs in their first year.

Sood also announced that the government is proposing the Delhi Startup Policy 2025, with a planned outlay of ₹325 crore over five years. The policy aims to support 5,000 startups by 2035 and includes the creation of a Delhi Student Seed Fund to assist early-stage ventures.

Under the scheme, equity-free seed grants of ₹10 lakh will be provided to six selected startups, while ₹1 lakh each will be awarded to 100 student startups, he said.

The minister urged students to focus on meaningful innovation rather than risk avoidance, stating that successful enterprises could emerge from university campuses and hostels.

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