Financial assistance of over Rs. 35 crore provided to

startups, 88 recognized incubators promoting innovation

Lucknow, Oct 30 (HS): Under

the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, UP government is making

continuous efforts to transform youth from job seekers into entrepreneurs who

generate employment. Thanks to the government’s effective policies, financial

incentives, and institutional support, UP has established itself as the

country’s third-largest startup ecosystem. The number of startups registered

with the Government of India in the state has crossed 24,000. Meanwhile, more

than 3,500 startups are registered under ‘Start-In-UP’. This achievement

reflects the state's rapidly growing environment for innovation, technological

development, and entrepreneurship.

To give institutional form to the state's startup culture,

the Yogi government notified the Uttar Pradesh Startup Policy-2020 on July 15,

2020. Under this policy, the government set targets to build an ecosystem of

10,000 startups and develop a network of at least 100 incubators across various

regions of the state. Given rapid changes in the startup sector and growing

youth participation, the government also notified the first amendment to the

policy on November 9, 2022. The objective was to encourage innovation while

giving young people better facilities and opportunities to start their own

enterprises.

Rather than limiting the startup ecosystem to numbers alone,

state government is promoting advanced technologies and research-based enterprises.

In this regard, the government set a target to establish eight state-of-the-art

centers of excellence. Under this initiative, centers of excellence in medical

electronics and health technology at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of

Medical Sciences, and in artificial intelligence at the Noida campus of IIT

Kanpur, have been established and are operational.

In addition, seven other centers of excellence have been

approved in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence and machine

learning, MedTech, drones, 5G/6G, telecommunications, blockchain and additive

manufacturing. This will give young people, researchers, and technical experts

in the state opportunities to develop enterprises based on new technologies.

After five years of Startup Policy-2020, the Yogi government

notified a new Startup Policy on July 10, 2026, keeping in view changing

technological and industrial requirements. Alongside this, Cabinet has approved

a proposal to establish the Uttar Pradesh Startup Mission Directorate to make

startup, incubation and innovation activities in the state more effective. In

the same direction, Cabinet has also approved a proposal to develop ‘U-Hubs

(Deep-Tech Hubs)’ in Noida and Lucknow to strengthen the state’s deep-tech

ecosystem and accelerate regional development. These hubs will play an

important role in improving coordination among technological innovation,

research, investment, and startups.

Under the Yogi government’s startup incentive schemes, the

state also provides financial support to entrepreneurs and incubators. So far, Rs.

123.14 lakh has been distributed to 150 startups as sustenance allowance, Rs. 1,457.425

lakh to 440 startups as seed capital and marketing assistance, and Rs. 539.86

lakh to 111 startups as prototype development assistance.

Meanwhile, the government has provided Rs. 1,347.54 lakh to

59 incubators as operational expenditure assistance and Rs. 365.56 lakh to 16

incubators as capital grants. Thus, a total of Rs. 3,833.525 lakh, equivalent

to approximately Rs. 38.34 crore, has been provided in assistance to startups

and incubators. At ‘Uttar Pradesh Startup Ecosystem’ program held on August 27,

2026, CM Yogi distributed financial incentives of over Rs. 3.42 crore to 107

startups and Rs. 1.79 crore to nine incubators. On the same occasion, the ‘UP

Startup Mission’ website was also launched to make access to startup-related

schemes and facilities easier.

An important achievement of the state’s startup ecosystem is

the growing participation of women entrepreneurs. More than 11,000 startups

registered with DPIIT are women-led. This is an important indicator of the

expansion of women’s economic participation, innovation and entrepreneurship in

the state. In addition, SIDBI is financing 48 startups from Uttar Pradesh.

At present, 88 government-recognized incubators are

operational in the state. They provide guidance, technical support, and

business opportunities to new enterprises in sectors such as information

technology, fintech, healthcare, education, agriculture, and social impact.

Yogi government’s policy commitment, financial assistance,

partnerships with technical institutions and initiatives promoting innovation

have given UP a new identity at the national level in the startup sector. The

state’s recognition in ‘Top Performer’ category in DPIIT’s annual startup

rankings is an important achievement in this direction. Government aims to

build on this strong foundation and establish Uttar Pradesh as a leading

national hub for innovation, deep-tech and entrepreneurship.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi