By Uttar Pradesh’s population of around 25 crore should be viewed as an opportunity rather than a challenge, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Thursday, linking the state’s large young workforce with its potential for economic growth and innovation.
Speaking at an event at Lok Bhawan, the Chief Minister said the real priority was to connect the state’s demographic strength with skills, employment, entrepreneurship and technology. During the programme, he handed over incentive cheques worth more than ₹3.42 crore to 107 startups and ₹1.79 crore to nine incubators. He also released the UP Startup Policy 2026 booklet and launched the UP Startup Mission portal.
Yogi: Bigger population means bigger opportunity
Adityanath said Uttar Pradesh has one of the world’s largest pools of young and energetic workers and that the government’s role is to provide them with platforms where their abilities can translate into businesses and jobs.
He recalled questions from foreign delegations and ambassadors about the challenge of managing a state with a population of 25 crore. His response, he said, has been that a bigger challenge can also represent a bigger opportunity.
The Chief Minister said the state’s startup ecosystem has expanded rapidly in recent years and is increasingly giving young people an avenue to turn ideas into businesses.
UP’s startup count rises from 120 to over 24,000
Highlighting the broader growth of India’s startup ecosystem, Adityanath said the country had around 500 startups before 2014, while the number has now crossed 2.5 lakh.
He said Uttar Pradesh had only about 120 startups before 2017, but the number has since risen to more than 24,000, including eight unicorns.
The Chief Minister credited the policy environment and government support for helping create conditions in which young entrepreneurs could build and expand their ventures.
From law and order concerns to an investment-focused UP
Adityanath also spoke about the image Uttar Pradesh carried before 2017, recalling concerns over poor infrastructure, power supply, law and order and frequent disruptions around festivals.
He said discussions about employment, innovation, incubators and startups were difficult to imagine in that environment. According to him, the change required not just new schemes but a shift in the government’s approach towards development and entrepreneurship.
Adityanath claimed that Uttar Pradesh has moved from being among the country’s bottom three economies to the top three, adding that the state’s economy, per-capita income, women’s workforce participation and number of large industries have grown significantly over the past nine years.
Women driving half of UP’s startups
The Chief Minister also highlighted the growing participation of women entrepreneurs, saying around half of the state’s startups are led by women.
He said the government has supported startup proposals emerging from institutions including IIT-Kanpur, BHU, IIIT, AKTU and IIM. A Fund of Funds created with SIDBI in 2019 has also been expanded under the new startup policy, he added.
Adityanath urged universities and higher educational institutions to move beyond conventional academic programmes and create stronger environments for research, development and innovation.
Focus on emerging technologies
The government, he said, is supporting the development of Centres of Excellence in areas with future economic potential. These include MedTech, drones, robotics, quantum computing, space technology and green hydrogen.
He said institutions such as IIT-Kanpur, IIT-BHU and SGPGI have shown interest in developing specialised Centres of Excellence and assured them of government support where emerging technologies require additional infrastructure or funding.
The Chief Minister also said the government has provided separate funding to universities for innovation and research.
Target to raise UP’s share of India’s startups
Adityanath acknowledged that Uttar Pradesh’s share of India’s startup ecosystem is still below what its population would suggest.
He said the state accounts for roughly one-sixth of India’s population, but its share of startups is closer to one-tenth. The government now wants Uttar Pradesh to account for 20% of the country’s startups.
He said the state has addressed earlier concerns around policy uncertainty, land availability and security and now has dedicated policies for different sectors.
The government, he added, is prepared to expand the SIDBI-linked Fund of Funds if necessary and can support entrepreneurs with leased land and plug-and-play spaces.
The message from the Chief Minister was clear: Uttar Pradesh’s demographic scale can become an economic advantage only if its young population has access to the skills, capital, infrastructure and institutional support needed to build businesses and create jobs.
