State govt aims to make Delhi India’s startup hub: Minister

New Delhi: Reaffirming the Delhi government’s focus on youth-led entrepreneurship, Education Minister Ashish Sood on Thursday said the national capital is steadily moving towards becoming India’s Startup Capital, driven by strong integration of education, skills and innovation. He was speaking ahead of the launch of the Delhi Startup Yuva Festival, scheduled to be held on January 9 at Netaji Subhas University of Technology (NSUT), Dwarka.

The festival is being organised by the Directorate of Training and Technical Education (DTTE) as a flagship initiative to empower student-led and early-stage startups and strengthen Delhi’s campus-to-market ecosystem. “This initiative reflects our focused approach to integrating education, skill development and entrepreneurship, enabling youth to pursue startups as a mainstream career option,” Sood said. He noted that over 75,000 students and young innovators are currently engaged in DTTE-supported entrepreneurship programmes, with participation growing by 25–30% annually. More than 470 startups are being incubated across government-supported institutions in sectors including technology, healthcare, sustainability, education, manufacturing and creative industries.

According to Sood, DTTE-supported startups generate an average of four to five direct jobs in their first year and have collectively recorded an estimated Rs.500–Rs.600 crore in aggregate revenue. He added that the proposed Delhi Startup Policy 2025, with an outlay of Rs.325 crore over five years, aims to enable 5,000 startups by 2035.

The minister said the Delhi Startup Yuva Festival will act as a “catalytic platform” to showcase youth-led ventures, connect entrepreneurs with investors and mentors, and promote innovation-driven solutions.