New Delhi, Dec 6 (IANS): Recognised startups in India have created over 16.6 lakh direct jobs across more than 55 varied industries, the Parliament was informed on Friday.

The highest number of direct jobs were created in the IT sector (2,04,119), followed by healthcare and life sciences (1,47,639), and professional and commercial services (94,060), Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

Startups in the fields of education (90,414), human resources (87,983), construction (88,702), food and beverages (88,468), agriculture (83,307) and artificial intelligence (23,918) were other top employment generators, as per the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) data.

India is currently home to over 1,46,000 DPIIT-recognised startups, and more than 100 unicorns.

Under the Startup India initiative, the government constantly undertakes various efforts for the development and growth of the startup ecosystem and to enhance job creation in the country, said the minister.

The flagship schemes are the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS), which support startups at various stages of their business cycle.

The minister said the government has also implemented periodic exercises and programmes including States’ Startup Ranking, National Startup Awards, and Innovation Week which play an important role in the holistic development of the startup ecosystem.

"Digital platforms such as the Startup India Hub portal and Bharat Startup Knowledge Access Registry (BHASKAR) enable easy access to resources and startup ecosystem collaboration. These measures are complemented by regulatory reforms and other ecosystem development events and programmes," Goyal emphasised.

The government also launched the ‘Startup India Hub’ portal for stakeholders of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in India to discover resources, information and various benefits under the ‘Startup India’ initiative on a common digital platform.

Furthermore, the Centre has launched the BHASKAR platform designed to centralise, streamline, and enhance collaboration among key stakeholders within the entrepreneurial ecosystem, which is enabling startups and entrepreneurs from non-metro cities and regions to connect with the larger startup ecosystem.