The number of registered startups has reached 1.76 lakh in the last 11 years, with 118 unicorns (startups with $1 billion valuation and above), thus fueling youth entrepreneurship, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday.

In a post on social media platform X, the Finance Minister said that "youth in India are building startups and creating jobs".

This is "a glimpse of the work done for the youth in the last 11 years under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi", she posted.

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, said in a separate X post that in the last 11 years, seven new IITs have been opened, along with eight new IIMs and 16 new AIIMS.

"1.6 crore+ youth trained under PMKVY (Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana) and 17.6 lakh+ direct jobs created from 1.6 lakh startups. Nearly 30,000 vocational education schools established, with more than 30 lakh students enrolled," the minister said.

In the last 11 years, "52.5+ crore collateral free Mudra loans disbursed to small businesses and up to Rs 33 crore loans worth Rs 1 lakh+ crore given. Under the PM Internship Scheme, internship opportunities were provided to 1 crore youth in the top 500 companies. About 490 new universities were established to spread higher education in every corner of the country", Puri mentioned.

Last month, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, notified the expansion of the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS), which increases the ceiling on guarantee cover per borrower from Rs 10 crore to Rs 20 crore.

According to the government, the extent of guarantee cover provided has also been increased to 85 per cent of the amount in default for loan amounts up to Rs 10 crore and 75 per cent of the amount in default for loan amounts exceeding Rs 10 crore.

In line with PM Modi's vision for transforming India into an innovation-driven self-reliant economy, the notified expansions aim to address the financing needs of innovation-driven startups. The expanded scheme will further reduce the perceived risks associated with lending to startups in established financial institutions, enabling greater financial flow and runway for startups to undertake research and development experimentation, and create cutting-edge innovation and technologies.