FM Says Indian Startups Could Match Established Industries’ Economic Contribution

Indian startups could, over the next few years, contribute as much to the economy as some established industries, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at the IIT Madras Alumni Association’s Sangam 2026 in Bengaluru. The statement was presented as her outlook for the ecosystem rather than a quantified forecast, with no specific industry benchmark or contribution figure attached to the comparison.

Sitharaman argued that the next phase of startup growth should come from technologies spreading beyond the companies that developed them. She pointed to areas such as agriculture and drones as examples of innovation finding wider economic applications, while also highlighting private-sector participation in areas including space. The government’s official release similarly cited startups manufacturing satellites as an example of this shift.

Public markets were another focus. Sitharaman encouraged technology companies to consider listings as they mature rather than viewing venture funding as the only route to capital. She also argued that the relatively small number of listed Indian AI companies should not be treated as evidence that the country lacks AI innovation, and said a larger cohort of public technology companies could make that activity more visible internationally.

Deeptech financing remains a more difficult problem. Responding to concerns that hardware companies can require years of development before generating meaningful revenue, Sitharaman asked the ecosystem for concrete proposals on what qualifies as early funding and how much patient capital is required. The Ministry of Finance said it remains open to policy suggestions aimed at improving long-duration financing for deeptech hardware startups.

The discussion also extended to AI infrastructure, semiconductors and quantum computing, where Sitharaman called for greater investment in hardware, skills and training.

The broader policy question is now less about whether India can create startups and more about whether promising technologies can scale into durable companies, attract long-term capital and spread into mainstream sectors of the economy.