Innovation India
Innovation India – Complete GK Capsule for Railway Exams
1. Introduction
India has emerged as the 3rd largest startup ecosystem globally (2023, NASSCOM).
From 2015 to 2023, the number of recognised startups zoomed from 471 → 1,17,254.
Government’s flagship initiatives—Startup India, Atal Innovation Mission, iCET—are fuelling the transformation.
2. Mega Milestones & Dates
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2015 | Startup India & Stand-up India launched (16 Jan) |
| 2016 | Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) set up (NITI Aayog) |
| 2017 | Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) – ₹10,000 cr corpus |
| 2018 | India joined Global Innovation Index (GII) top-50 (57→57) |
| 2019 | Atal Tinkering Labs crossed 5,000 mark |
| 2020 | National Education Policy (NEP) – innovation mantra |
| 2021 | Drone Rules liberalised; Unicorn tally = 44 (1 every 9 days) |
| 2022 | iCET (India–US Initiative on Critical & Emerging Tech) launched |
| 2023 | GII rank 40th (out of 132); 1,000+ Atal Tinkering Labs; 108 unicorns |
| 2024 | 3rd largest unicorn hub (after US, China) |
3. Key Programmes at a Glance
| Scheme | Nodal Ministry | Budget/Corpus | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Startup India | DPIIT | – | 50+ regulatory reforms, tax holiday 3 yrs, self-certification |
| Atal Innovation Mission | NITI Aayog | ₹1,000 cr | Tinkering labs, ACIC, Atal New India Challenges |
| Fund of Funds (FFS) | SIDBI | ₹10,000 cr | SEBI-registered AIFs, 1.28 lakh cr valuation (Mar-24) |
| Stand-Up India | DFS (MoF) | ₹30,000 cr | SC/ST & women entrepreneurs, bank loans 10-100 lakh |
| ASPIRE | MSME | ₹220 cr | Livelihood Business Incubators in agro-rural space |
| iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) | MoD | ₹1,500 cr | Open challenges for drones, AI, cyber, space tech |
| SAMRIDH | MeitY | ₹40 cr | Accelerators for social impact startups |
| TDB (Technology Dev. Board) | DST | ₹650 cr corpus | Equity & grant for deep-tech commercialisation |
4. Numbers That Matter
- Recognised startups (DPIIT): 1,17,254 (Mar 2024)
- Unicorns: 108 (Dec 2023); 44 born in 2021 alone
- Atal Tinkering Labs: 10,000+ schools; 75 lakh students engaged
- Atal Incubation Centres (AICs): 68 (+18 ACIC)
- Patents granted (2022-23): 34,611 (5-fold jump vs 2014)
- Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD): ₹1,27,381 cr (2021-22) – 0.65 % of GDP
- Top 3 startup states: Maharashtra (20%), Karnataka (19%), Delhi-NCR (17%)
- Top 3 sectors: Fintech (18%), E-commerce (10%), Enterprise tech (9%)
5. One-liner Quick Facts (Memory Hooks)
- Startup India birthday – 16 Jan 2015.
- AIM mascot – “Atal Tinkering Labs” in schools.
- ₹10 k cr FFS routed via SIDBI.
- 3-year tax holiday = Section 80-IAC.
- iCET 2022 – India-US tech bridge.
- GII 2023 – India 40th; Switzerland 1st.
- Highest unicorn year – 2021 (44).
- DPIIT = Dept for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade.
- First startup to hit $1 T m-cap – none yet! (Reliance ≠ startup).
- “Vocal for Local” coined in Atmanirbhar package 2020.
6. MCQ Practice Set (15+)
Q1. When was the Startup India campaign launched? (a) 15 Aug 2014 (b) 26 Jan 2015 (c) 16 Jan 2015 (d) 1 May 2016
Answer: (c) 16 Jan 2015Q2. Which body implements the Atal Innovation Mission? (a) DPIIT (b) NITI Aayog (c) SIDBI (d) RBI
Answer: (b) NITI AayogQ3. India’s rank in Global Innovation Index 2023 was (a) 46 (b) 40 (c) 36 (d) 50
Answer: (b) 40Q4. Corpus size of Fund of Funds for Startups (a) ₹5,000 cr (b) ₹8,000 cr (c) ₹10,000 cr (d) ₹12,000 cr
Answer: (c) ₹10,000 crQ5. Which state hosts the highest number of DPIIT-recognised startups? (a) Karnataka (b) Maharashtra (c) Tamil Nadu (d) Gujarat
Answer: (b) MaharashtraQ6. How many unicorns did India add in 2021? (a) 22 (b) 33 (c) 44 (d) 55
Answer: (c) 44Q7. Atal Tinkering Labs are set up in (a) Engineering colleges (b) Schools (VI-XII) (c) ITIs (d) NITs only
Answer: (b) Schools (VI-XII)Q8. iCET initiative is between India and (a) UK (b) USA (c) UAE (d) Japan
Answer: (b) USAQ9. Which sector accounts for the maximum share of Indian startups? (a) Health-tech (b) Fintech (c) Edu-tech (d) Agri-tech
Answer: (b) FintechQ10. The Stand-Up India scheme caters to loans between (a) 1–5 lakh (b) 5–10 lakh (c) 10–100 lakh (d) 1–5 cr
Answer: (c) 10–100 lakhQ11. Which ministry nod is required for Startup India recognition? (a) MeitY (b) DPIIT (c) MoF (d) DST
Answer: (b) DPIITQ12. The number of recognised startups in Mar 2024 crossed (a) 50 k (b) 80 k (c) 1 lakh (d) 1.17 lakh
Answer: (d) 1.17 lakhQ13. India’s GERD as % of GDP (2021-22) (a) 0.65 (b) 1.0 (c) 2.0 (d) 2.8
Answer: (a) 0.65Q14. Which of the following is NOT an AIM component? (a) AIC (b) ACIC (c) ANIC (d) PMJDY
Answer: (d) PMJDYQ15. First year India entered GII top-50 (a) 2017 (b) 2018 (c) 2019 (d) 2020
Answer: (c) 2019 (Rank 52 in 2019, 52→48 in 2020)Q16. iDEX is related to (a) Agriculture (b) Defence (c) Education (d) Health
Answer: (b) DefenceQ17. Which organisation operates the Fund of Funds? (a) NABARD (b) SIDBI (c) RBI (d) SEBI
Answer: (b) SIDBIRevise → Rehearse → Crack the Railway CBT!
BETA
