Delhi Startup Youth Festival 2026 launched to boost student innovation, startups

The Delhi Government on Friday launched the Delhi Startup Youth Festival, it was launched on January 9, 2026 at the Netaji Subhas University of Technology (NSUT), reaffirming its commitment to nurturing student entrepreneurship and building an inclusive startup ecosystem in the national capital.

According to an official release from the Education Minister’s office, the festival aims to create a strong “campus to market” ecosystem by bringing together students, universities, colleges, mentors, investors and industry leaders on a common platform.

Addressing the gathering, Education Minister Ashish Sood said institutions such as NSUT are not merely centres of academic learning but hubs of innovation and nation-building. He said today’s students are the architects of a Developed India , and the festival marks the beginning of a transformative movement enabling young innovators to convert ideas into enterprises.

Highlighting India’s startup journey, Sood said that prior to 2014, the country had only three unicorns and a limited startup ecosystem. Today, India has around 125 unicorns with a combined valuation exceeding USD 366 billion , along with over 1.97 lakh DPIIT-recognised startups , making it the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem. He attributed this growth to the shift from “policy paralysis” to “policy action” under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Minister emphasised that one of the most significant achievements of India’s startup growth has been its inclusivity, noting that nearly 45 per cent of startups are led by women . He said women-led entrepreneurship is a powerful tool for social change, promoting financial independence and positively impacting families and communities.

Inspired by this national momentum, Sood said the Delhi government, under Chief Minister Rekha Gupta , is working to make Delhi the capital of student innovation. He added that the Delhi Startup Youth Festival will be developed as a major annual platform to strengthen collaboration between academia and industry.

The Education Minister said that over 75,000 students and young innovators are currently engaged in entrepreneurship programmes supported by the Delhi government, with an annual growth rate of 30 per cent . More than 470 startups are being incubated across sectors such as healthcare, sustainable development and manufacturing.

He noted that early-stage startups generate an average of four to five direct jobs in their first year and collectively contribute revenues of around Rs 500–600 crore .

Sood also announced that the Delhi government is proposing to roll out the Delhi Startup Policy 2025 , with a five-year outlay of Rs 325 crore , targeting support for 5,000 startups by 2035 . Under the policy, the Delhi Student Seed Fund is being established to ensure that promising ideas do not fail due to lack of early-stage capital. The top six startups will receive equity-free seed grants of up to Rs 10 lakh each , while the top 100 student startups will receive Rs 1 lakh each .

Encouraging students to pursue meaningful innovation, the Minister said the value of an idea lies not in how safe it is but in how impactful it can be, adding that India’s next unicorn could emerge from a hostel room, a laboratory or a university campus.

Calling upon Delhi’s youth to lead this transformation, Sood said the city should become India’s startup capital through the achievements and entrepreneurial spirit of its young innovators.

The Delhi Startup Youth Festival 2026 was formally launched amid enthusiastic participation from students, mentors, startups and industry representatives.