10 year celebration of Startup India at Bharat Mandapam

Event Date: 16th January, 2026

Event brief description

Students of Galgotias University proudly participated in the 10 Years of Startup India Celebration held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The landmark event marked a decade of India’s startup journey and featured inspiring addresses by Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Piyush Goyal, alongside leading entrepreneurs. The discussions highlighted India’s exponential startup growth, policy-driven support, and the shift toward deep tech, innovation, and global leadership—offering Galgotias students first-hand exposure to the nation’s evolving entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Event Detailed Description

Students of Galgotias University expressed immense pride in being part of the landmark 10 Years of Startup India Celebration held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. Marking a decade since the launch of the Startup India initiative in January 2016, the event was more than a commemoration—it was a powerful reaffirmation of India’s entrepreneurial journey and future ambitions. For Galgotias University students, the celebration symbolized alignment between national vision and campus-driven innovation, reinforcing their belief that they are active contributors to India’s startup-powered growth story.
Over the last ten years, India’s startup ecosystem has scaled unprecedented heights. With more than 2 lakh recognized startups, the ecosystem has emerged as one of the largest globally. These ventures have collectively generated over 2.1 lakh jobs, while entrepreneurship has expanded beyond metros into Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, democratizing opportunity across regions. A defining milestone has been inclusivity—42% of startups are now women-led, reflecting a more balanced and participative innovation economy. Galgotias University students resonated deeply with this transformation, seeing clear pathways for their ideas to translate into impact.
The address by Narendra Modi set a decisive tone for the next decade. He urged startups to pivot toward deep technology, high-quality manufacturing, and global leadership, emphasizing that “today’s research is tomorrow’s intellectual property.” Highlighting AI sovereignty, he stressed the need for Indian AI solutions to be built on Indian servers, ensuring data security and national capability. Financial commitments—including a ₹1 lakh crore funding initiative and a ₹25,000 crore Fund of Funds—were underscored to ensure collateral-free support for innovators. For students, this roadmap toward Viksit Bharat reinforced the value of research-led entrepreneurship nurtured within universities.

Complementing this vision, Piyush Goyal reflected on the cultural shift among India’s youth—from risk aversion to experimentation. He highlighted evolving educational models such as “diamond-shaped learning,” encouraging students to explore, fail, and iterate. This perspective strongly aligned with the experiential learning ecosystem promoted at Galgotias University.

Industry leaders added lived experience to policy vision. Aman Gupta emphasized celebrating founders’ resilience, advocating that National Startup Day be honored as widely as Mother’s Day. His journey—from being an audience member to sharing the stage with ministers—illustrated how startups have become central to India’s narrative. With 25% of boAt’s revenue from exports, his story embodied “Made in India for the World.”

Similarly, Ritesh Agarwal highlighted the democratization of opportunity, noting how founders from small towns can now build global companies. He pointed to reversing brain drain, with global talent returning to India to launch startups. For Galgotias students, these stories validated the belief that ambition, not geography, defines success.

The celebration spotlighted impactful initiatives: Avinya Bihar 2.0 increased seed funding from ₹10 lakh to ₹25 lakh; India earned five international startup awards across Fintech, Agro-Innovation, and Next-Gen Tech; and AI cybersecurity training in Mumbai is already benefiting 4 lakh learners monthly. Collaborations such as Startup Bihar with IIT Patna demonstrated how regional innovation hubs are being strengthened—an encouraging signal for students aspiring to build locally and scale globally.

A key takeaway for students—especially those in finance and business analytics—was the multi-layered funding framework supporting startups from ideation to global scaling. Government-backed instruments like the Fund of Funds for Startups, seed funding, incubator support, and regional allocations were positioned alongside a maturing venture capital ecosystem focused on long-term value over short-term valuations. Priority sectors—Deep Tech & AI, Fintech, Quick Commerce & Logistics, Sustainability & Agro-Innovation—presented clear opportunity corridors for the coming decade.

The national narrative resonated strongly with the vision of Dhruv Galgotia, Hon’ble CEO of Galgotias University. His sustained focus on building a robust startup ecosystem, strengthening incubation, fostering research commercialization, and preparing students for next-generation technologies mirrors the Prime Minister’s call for deep-tech leadership and global competitiveness. Galgotias University’s emphasis on innovation-led education, mentorship, and industry integration positions its students to not just participate in—but lead—the next phase of India’s startup journey.

Department Name – GICRISE

Event Outcome:

The celebration reinforced the confidence of Galgotias University students to dream bigger and innovate with purpose. The national vision shared at the event strongly aligns with Hon’ble CEO Dr. Dhruv Galgotia’s commitment to building a robust startup culture that empowers youth through incubation, research, and global exposure. As India moves from scale to global leadership in startups, Galgotias students return inspired to contribute meaningfully to this mission. The event was not just a reflection on the past decade, but a powerful roadmap for the next—where students emerge as founders, innovators, and leaders of a Viksit Bharat.

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