Highlights

At 7,039, Delhi-NCR is a runaway leader in the number of startups, followed by Bangalore (5,234), Mumbai (3,829), Hyderabad (1,940), Pune (1,593) and Chennai (1,520)

NCR is the strongest in consumer tech and services startups with real potential to make it to the top five globally in terms of the startup ecosystem and activity: Rajan Anandan, MD of Sequoia Capital

NEW DELHI: Bangalore is India's Silicon Valley, but here's the surprise: Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida - collectively, Delhi-NCR - together are far ahead in the number of startups they are home to. Another reason to call the National Capital Region India's startup capital region is that it is home to the highest number of unicorns - companies valued to over $1 billion - which underlines the economic might it possesses.

The numbers were revealed in a report launched by Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant in Delhi on Tuesday; at 7,039, Delhi-NCR is a runaway leader in the number of startups, followed by Bangalore (5,234), Mumbai (3,829), Hyderabad (1,940), Pune (1,593) and Chennai (1,520).

Delhi alone, with 4,491 startups, is well ahead of Mumbai while Gurgaon (1,544), the magnet around which Delhi-NCR's corporate world revolves, has more startups than Chennai and is almost equal to Pune. Noida, where mobile payment firm Paytm is based, has over 1,000 startups and is catching up with the others fast. In terms of the total startup valuation in India, Delhi-NCR's contribution is almost 50%.

The report, titled 'Turbocharging the Delhi-NCR Start-up Ecosystem', has been prepared by The Indus Entrepreneurs Network (TIE) along with Zinnov, a Gurgaon-based management consulting firm.

Commenting on the findings, Rajan Anandan, MD of Sequoia Capital, India and TIE's Delhi-NCR president, said the numbers had come as a surprise to them as well. "NCR is the strongest in consumer tech and services startups with real potential to make it to the top five globally in terms of the startup ecosystem and activity," said Anandan.

According to the report, NCR - home to the likes of Zomato, OYO and Rivigo - has 10 unicorns, followed by Bangalore with nine. Mumbai has only two. "The most interesting part is that beyond these 10 unicorns, NCR also has another 10 soon-to-be unicorns and once they touch the $1-billion mark, it will be very difficult for any other city to beat NCR in this area," Kant said while launching the report.

Delhi-NCR also has three of India's four most valuable listed internet companies - Info Edge, MakeMyTrip and indiaMART. "It is quite motivating for budding entrepreneurs like me to know that Delhi has such a strong startup ecosystem. When you see so many companies touching the unicorn mark, you also get inspired and motivated to reach there," said Meghna Saraogi, founder of Styledotme, a Gurgaon-based startup.

The report also pointed out that Delhi-NCR also has a diverse mix of startups with maximum activity in consumer products and services (14% of the total), followed by e-commerce, health, and education tech. Reacting to the findings, Sakshi Vij, founder of MylesCar said, "I think Bangalore has always been marketed better than Delhi probably because they started early. But Bangalore is now saturating as a market."

But on the flipside, the success story of Delhi-NCR hasn't quite led to organic growth in its support system where Bangalore is still the best-placed city in India. For a region that plays host to 23% of the country's total startups, there is not a single government-backed startup hub in Delhi-NCR. Besides, only 10% of all incubators in India are located in Delhi-NCR and only 8.5% of all accelerators are based here. The report, highlighting this, called for a robust infrastructure setup in and around the national capital to sustain this growth rate.

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"When it comes to government initiatives to boost startup activity, states like Karnataka have introduced some great policies. For instance, every startup in Karnataka gets a seed fund of Rs 50 lakh and in the past few months, they have given this fund to more than 150 startups. Similar assistance must also be provided in NCR by the respective governments," said Anandan. Pollution and a high crime rate are the other two significant hurdles before the startup ecosystem in NCR. The rise in pollution has forced a few startup founders to move base to Bangalore.

Addressing concerns about the lack of infrastructure, Kant assured industry members, "We are willing to open up to 25 incubation centres in NCR as long as we get viable business models. We will also speak with the Haryana and UP government and push for the development of startup hubs in Noida and Gurgaon."