A decade after Startup India was launched, government data shows a maturing entrepreneurial base spreading well beyond India's traditional metro startup hubs
As Startup India completes a decade, DPIIT data shows over 2.07 lakh recognised startups nationwide, with Maharashtra leading and women-led startups nearing 1 lakh.
Dr. Reshma Kewalramani became the first female CEO of a major US biotech company when she took the helm of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in 2020. A Mumbai-born nephrologist turned Fortune 500 leader, she was named to TIME's 2026 Women of the Year list for reshaping what's possible in life sciences leadership.
From a childhood marked by poverty and interrupted schooling to founding one of India's most decorated education non-profits, Safeena Husain has helped over two million out-of-school girls in rural India return to the classroom. She was named to TIME's 2026 Women of the Year list for her work.
Anu Aiyengar grew up in Kerala, arrived in America as a teenager, and now runs J.P. Morgan's global mergers and acquisitions business — the only woman and only person of color to ever hold that position on Wall Street. Named to Barron's 2026 list of the most influential women in US finance.
Leena Nair made history as Chanel's first Indian-origin, first person-of-color global CEO. Her continued leadership, well past the initial novelty, may be the more meaningful story of the two.
Most monk fruit sweeteners on the Indian market are 99% erythritol and 1% monk fruit. The Sweet Change has no erythritol and 30% monk fruit concentration — the highest in the category. It was formulated by a nutritionist who spent a decade telling diabetic patients to cut sugar and watching them fail because the alternatives were terrible.
She played a pivotal role in the ICICI-ICICI Bank merger. She served as Group CFO of ICICI Bank. She led ICICI Venture. She joined Aditya Birla Capital in 2022, designed the One ABC One P&L strategy that unified a fragmented financial services conglomerate, built the ABCD omnichannel app, launched Udyog Plus for MSMEs, raised ₹4,500 crore in growth capital
Most women's health brands in India target a single stage of life. Avni Wellness was built to serve every stage from adolescence through menopause — with science-backed, toxin-free products, cycle nutrition, and a women-led distribution network that creates livelihoods alongside customers.
"We're building Neothera on the belief that skin conditions cannot be solved through products alone." Radhika Agarwal spent nearly five years at Blume Ventures backing consumer tech founders. Now, with ₹9 crore in pre-seed funding and Blume leading the round, she is building the kind of company she once looked for as an investor.