Maharashtra adds most startups eligible for tax exemption under Startup India initiative: Govt

Maharashtra added the most DPIIT-recognised startups eligible for tax exemption in the first 10 months of 2025, further consolidating its position as the state with the highest number of such ventures under the Startup India programme.

Between January and October, Maharashtra added 116 such entities, followed by Gujarat, which added 110, while Delhi NCR and Karnataka, which, otherwise, have been widely recognised as India’s startup hubs, have been significantly behind, a response shared in the Parliament by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, showed today.

These entities would be eligible for a deduction equal to 100% of the profits and gains derived from the eligible business for three consecutive assessment years. 

Over the past 9 years, since the Startup India initiative was launched in 2016, Maharashtra has topped the chart every time, the data showed. Maharashtra and Gujarat, per the data. 

Goyal, in his response, said that, to date, 4,147 DPIIT-recognised startups have received a certificate of eligibility under Section 80-IAC, for tax exemption, with 546 in the first 10 months of 2025.

India, the world’s third-largest startup economy, has 1,97,692 entities recognised as “startups” under the Startup India initiative by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) as of October 31, 2025. 

To be recognised, a firm must be registered as a private limited company, partnership, or LLP; have an annual turnover below Rs 100 crore in any previous year; be less than ten years old; and be working on innovation or improving existing products, services, or processes with the potential to create jobs or wealth. Entities created by splitting or restructuring an existing business are not eligible.

In terms of sectors, DPIIT-recognised startups in the healthcare and life sciences sector added the maximum number of entities—51—eligible under Section 80-IAC, the data showed, followed by IT Services, which added 50 such entities. So far, by October, 546 DPIIT-recognised startups have received the certificate of eligibility, Goyal’s response showed.

Goyal also said that 34,400 DPIIT-recognised startups have been onboarded on Government e Marketplace (GeM) and over 4.8 lakh orders from public entities have been placed with the recognised startups with a cumulative value of over Rs. 47,500 crore as on 31st October 2025.

Further, as on 31st October 2025, more than 16,000 new patent applications have been filed by startups as a result of reforms undertaken in the Indian Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) regime, Goyal said.