Policy Update
Gowri Kodali
Introduction
The Indian government recognizes the opportunities that India’s startup ecosystem presents for entrepreneurship and employment. In 2023 the Indian government published a regulatory impact assessment on startups (PIB, 2023) to evaluate the effects of the Startup India action plan (2016). The assessment noted that the plan had accomplished 93% of its targets and far exceeded expectations on employment and investment. Some of the limitations in the Indian startup ecosystem were noted to be gaps and imbalances in the availability of financial, mentorship and other institutional networks, and market linkages, which often resulted in entrepreneurs being unable to identify the right professionals and other support systems.
The Bharat Startup Knowledge Access Registry (BHASKAR) was launched on September 16, 2024 by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, to address the aforementioned challenges (PIB, 2024a, 2024b). BHASKAR is an online collaborative platform to build a common digital space for startups, investors, mentors, service providers, and government officials and foster enhanced digital collaboration within the ecosystem of entrepreneurship.
BHASKAR promotes digital connectivity and makes participants in the ecosystem more visible and accessible. Funding is only one aspect of the ecosystem. Digital connectivity plays an equally important role in enabling participants to connect to peers and opportunities relevant to them. The impact of BHASKAR will depend on whether it helps bring about changes in digital partnerships, and/or the flow of entrepreneurship-related knowledge and/or entrepreneurial development (Startup India, n.d).
Background
The Indian Startup ecosystem consists of entrepreneurs, incubators, accelerators, universities, banks and other financial institutions, government and industry bodies. Various stakeholders in the ecosystem provide assistance in different ways. Important information is scattered in different sources and formats. Sometimes, a lack of information, particularly for first generation entrepreneurs and small businesses becomes a major barrier. The BHASKAR initiative aims to consolidate the resources available for the entrepreneurship ecosystem and improve collaboration among different stakeholders (PIB 2024a).
The Initiative is a part of Startup India Programme and several other policy changes and reforms undertaken by the Government of India. As per DPIIT, as on September 2024, about 1.46 lakh startups had been recognized. The rapid growth indicated inadequacy of bridges to connect entrepreneurs with the investors, mentors, and other stakeholders outside their direct geographical and institutional networks (PIB 2024a).
The Initiative intends to close information and knowledge gaps in Startup India by developing a common virtual platform. An online platform can help connect to different types of investors, business opportunities, and financing. However, the barriers to accessing them will not vanish with the provision of information. The Initiative aims to remove information barriers and, in the process, links up other support resources to startups.
Functioning
Source: startupindia.gov.in
BHASKAR helps its members to be identified and connected to others in the ecosystem and offers the facility of creating individual profiles to members for inclusion in the directories. It also offers investment opportunities and helps members locate professional advisors (BHASKAR, n.d.; Startup India, n.d.). BHASKAR provides the opportunity for individuals and organizations to use the portal. The official BHASKAR portal states that the purpose of BHASKAR is to unite the various components of the ecosystem and enable users to find collaborators.
The official BHASKAR website states that the registration on BHASKAR and registration on the DPIIT startup portal are independent of each other (Startup India, n.d.). While both initiatives operate under the broader umbrella of Startup India, registration on the BHASKAR portal and recognition under the DPIIT startup framework are entirely independent processes.
DPIIT recognition is an official administrative accreditation that grants startups statutory benefits such as tax exemptions, patent rebates, and easier public procurement norms. Conversely, BHASKAR (Bharat Startup Knowledge Access Registry) functions as a comprehensive digital networking and collaboration platform designed to unite various ecosystem stakeholders. Consequently, holding a BHASKAR ID does not automatically entitle participants to the benefits associated with DPIIT recognition.
The official BHASKAR website mentions transparency and verification of stakeholders, and places misleading commercial representations among the three pillars of its platform governance. BHASKAR has also stated that the responsibility for all interactions on the portal rests with the users. Startup India states that the responsibility for the services rendered through the platform rests with the users and government entities will not be accountable for the services rendered through the platform (Startup India, n.d.).
Performance
Following the public launch of BHASKAR in September 2024, the platform experienced a notable surge in user onboarding. An analysis of state-wise registration figures highlights a strong geographic concentration in established innovation hubs, illustrating existing disparities in regional startup ecosystem maturity. However, while these metrics effectively capture platform outreach and digital adoption, they primarily indicate user participation rather than the qualitative success, revenue viability, or operational growth of entrepreneurial activities within respective states.
As of June 2025, the registrations were: Maharashtra-33,845; Karnataka-20,004; Uttar Pradesh-19,382; Delhi-18,972; and Gujarat-17,370. Andhra Pradesh had 3,701 registrations and Telangana had 10,433 registrations. Participation on the platform is indicated by the data. However, the data do not reflect the quality and/or success of the entrepreneurial activities in the state (PIB, 2025). The latest (2026) official report of the States’ Startup Ecosystem Ranking, stated that 6,33,621 users had registered on BHASKAR.
The report states that the larger user base of the BHASKAR portal should not be compared to the previous (that is 2025) registrations of the startup category. Both should be assessed independently, as they reflect different registration windows and categories (DPIIT, 2026). Registration data reflect only a partial picture of the BHASKAR platform. The data that are in the public domain do not reflect the investment and/or mentorship connections and/or business partnerships/investments facilitated through the BHASKAR platform. Meaningful performance indicators should be developed to assess digital participation of stakeholders in the start-up ecosystem.
Impact
- BHASKAR can help remove information barriers by creating a common platform for different stakeholders. For entrepreneurs, it makes it easier to identify investors and mentors. For investors it makes it easier to find investment opportunities beyond their existing business network. It is useful for newly launched start-ups to become more visible and to create their institutional links (PIB, 2024a, Startup India, n.d.).
- Collaboration: BHASKAR can facilitate collaboration among different educational institutions and entrepreneurs. Knowledge exchange and other collaboration among students, entrepreneurs and professionals can be facilitated by the platform. It can encourage and promote entrepreneurial learning and innovation if its users are interactive and engaging and the information about its stakeholders is contemporary and precise (Startup India, n.d.).
- Regional Connections and Inclusion: BHASKAR promotes regional connections and inclusion. Some of the awareness activities implemented by DPIIT include state startup nodal agencies, incubators, accelerators, colleges and universities. These activities can improve the awareness of various opportunities specially among the small and medium enterprises beyond the major startup hubs (PIB, 2025).
- Measuring Impact: Positive word-of-mouth or an aggressive marketing campaign can boost interest and/or registrations on the BHASKAR platform. The more relevant question to ask is: Does BHASKAR contribute to a positive impact on the entrepreneurial ecosystem? The quality and the availability of systems and means to facilitate entrepreneurship must also be considered.
Key Challenges
- Digital Registration vs. Meaningful Engagement: As stated in the government report released in August 2025, registration on BHASKAR does not guarantee that a user will return to the site (PIB, 2025).
- Regional Inequities: Variations in registration processes in different states and territories point toward the need for more outreach and support. As stated in the same government report, BHASKAR can reach more entrepreneurial talent, although it may lead to the duplication of entrepreneurship services (PIB, 2025).
- Credibility of Stakeholder Profiles: Users will only use the platform if they have confidence in the information it provides. False or misleading information and inactive profiles will significantly diminish the public’s confidence in the system. The administration can improve the trustworthiness of the system and reporting by establishing a verification process.
- Overlap with Other Platforms: While a centralized registry is one of the advantages of BHASKAR, it has to be evaluated if it really results in seamless integration with services without overlapping the services offered by Startup India.
- Entrepreneurs with limited digital and professional networking skills may have difficulty optimizing online networking systems. Sufficient digital and ICT infrastructure should be complemented with adequate local facilitation and training to support large scale participation of entrepreneurs.
Way Forward
1. The DPIIT should take up Outcome-based Monitoring and disclose outcomes from the BHASKAR program by posting regular reports on their website.
2. State Startup Nodal Agencies, Universities, and incubation and other entrepreneurship and skill development centers, should be encouraged to extend their outreach and hands on support to areas of low entrepreneurial registration.
3. The platform should be strengthened to better protect the identity of stakeholders and implement processes to investigate reports of untrustworthy/malicious stakeholders and engagements.
4. The BHASKAR platform should further align with Startup India, to offer mentoring and investor connect, to assist entrepreneurs with business opportunity identification.
5. The web-based platform should be prioritized for first generation entrepreneurs and small enterprises (including improvement of the web-based platform based on user feedback), and local, training and support (such as in regional languages) should be prioritized.
6. Independent evaluations should assess the quality of partnerships entered into by the platform. Variability should be taken into consideration.
Conclusion
The purpose of BHASKAR is to integrate India’s startup ecosystem using digital means. Currently, there are gaps in information about startups, investors, mentors, and other stakeholders, which limits opportunities for collaboration. BHASKAR has initiated efforts in this regard and the digital program has gained momentum and coverage since it was launched in September 2024 (PIB 2024b; PIB 2025; DPIIT 2026).
A digital startup registry by itself does not guarantee collaboration and successful entrepreneurial partnerships. Long-term effects of the program should be the basis of evaluation for BHASKAR. It is important to see if programs promoting digital entrepreneurship, innovation and business startups are integrated.
References
- Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. (2026). 5th edition of States’ Startup Ecosystem Ranking: National report. Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. https://www.startupindia.gov.in/srf/images/SRF_2022_Result_page/National-Report-15-01-26.pdf
- Press Information Bureau. (2024a, September 15). DPIIT to launch BHASKAR: A revolutionary platform for India’s startup ecosystem. Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=2055243
- Press Information Bureau. (2024b, September 16). Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Shri Piyush Goyal launches Bharat Startup Knowledge Access Registry (BHASKAR) Portal. Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2055427
- Press Information Bureau. (2025, August 1). BHASKAR platform facilitates collaboration among startups and ecosystem stakeholders. Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2151333
- Startup India. (n.d.). BHASKAR: About us. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Government of India. https://www.startupindia.gov.in/bhaskar/about
About the Contributor
Gowri Kodali is a Research and Editorial Intern at the Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI). She is pursuing a Master’s degree in Economics and is actively preparing for the UPSC Civil Services Examination. Her academic and research interests include public policy, governance, economic development, entrepreneurship and socio-economic development.
Acknowledgement
I sincerely thank the Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI) for providing me with the opportunity to research and write this Policy Update. I am grateful to the IMPRI team for their valuable guidance, encouragement and support in strengthening my understanding of public policy research and analysis.
Reviewed by Akanksha and Adit
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of IMPRI or any affiliated institution.
Read More at IMPRI:
Special Campaign 6.0, Ministry of Mines, for E-Waste and Circular Economy 2026
