DPIIT Partners with Primus Partners to Power the Next Wave of India’s Startup Growth

India’s startup landscape has been on a meteoric rise — from a handful of fledgling ventures a decade ago to one of the world’s most vibrant and diverse innovation ecosystems today. But as the ecosystem matures, so does the need for stronger institutional support, structured mentorship, and deeper integration between policy and industry.

Taking a step forward in that direction, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has joined hands with Primus Partners Pvt. Ltd. through a newly signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This strategic partnership is designed to strengthen India’s startup ecosystem by focusing on three key pillars — innovation, capacity building, and mentorship.

The collaboration seeks to build a bridge between the policymaking corridors of government and the fast-paced innovation hubs where India’s entrepreneurs are shaping the future. Through this alliance, DPIIT and Primus Partners will co-develop initiatives that provide early- and growth-stage startups with structured mentorship, market access opportunities, technology integration support, and policy awareness programmes — crucial elements that can turn promising ideas into scalable, sustainable businesses.

DPIIT & Primus Join Hands

Speaking about the partnership, Sanjiv, Joint Secretary, DPIIT, highlighted how the move aligns with India’s broader ambition to nurture a globally competitive innovation economy.

“This collaboration reaffirms DPIIT’s commitment to fostering an innovation-led economy that thrives on creativity, technology, and enterprise. India’s startup ecosystem today stands at the cusp of global transformation. By strengthening linkages between policy, industry, and innovation, we aim to create pathways that empower startups to drive sustainable growth, job creation, and India’s emergence as a global innovation powerhouse,” he said.

Over the past few years, India’s startup ecosystem has grown exponentially — home to over 1.25 lakh registered startups and more than 110 unicorns, contributing significantly to the country’s GDP and employment generation. Yet, many early-stage founders continue to face challenges related to policy navigation, scalability, and market readiness. The DPIIT–Primus partnership aims to directly address these gaps through hands-on support and ecosystem enablement.

A Stronger Foundation for Innovation

Davinder Sandhu, Co-Founder and Chairman, Primus Partners, underscored that this initiative will go beyond policy dialogue and focus on execution.

“The partnership will help facilitate structured engagement with the startup community through mentoring, knowledge sharing, and industry linkages,” he said. “Such initiatives will create a stronger support system for innovation and entrepreneurship, ensuring that startups can transform ideas into impactful businesses.”

Primus Partners’ involvement is expected to bring deep expertise in policy implementation, research, and industry strategy to the table. By combining DPIIT’s policy vision with Primus’ executional capabilities, the collaboration aims to establish a comprehensive ecosystem that nurtures startups from ideation to international expansion.

This approach reflects DPIIT’s growing emphasis on industry-led collaboration as a way to sustain the momentum of India’s startup boom. From Startup India to Digital India, government-led programmes have already created an enabling environment — and now, partnerships like this seek to take that support to a more operational, hands-on level.

About Primus Partners — The Strategy Behind the Change

Founded with a mission to drive innovation and nation-building, Primus Partners Pvt. Ltd. is an India-headquartered management consultancy working across public policy, governance, technology, and investment domains.

The firm brings over 200 person-years of collective experience from experts across sectors, making it a trusted partner for both public and private institutions. Its services are structured around four major verticals:

• Primus Advisory: Offers strategic and operational consulting to help organizations drive performance and sustainability.

• Primus Solutions: Focuses on building advanced technology platforms that enable organizations to scale and create lasting societal impact.

• Primus Capital: Provides fundraising and investment advisory support to help startups and enterprises unlock long-term value.

• Primus Research: Delivers data-driven insights, research publications, and analytical reports to guide decision-making across industries.

By blending strategy, technology, and policy expertise, Primus Partners has emerged as a key player in India’s growth narrative — working closely with governments, startups, and corporates to translate ideas into transformative outcomes.

Charting India’s Global Innovation Future

The DPIIT–Primus collaboration is more than just an MoU — it’s a commitment to shaping the next phase of India’s entrepreneurial journey. By equipping startups with the right knowledge, networks, and policy clarity, the partnership hopes to create an environment where innovation thrives not just in urban hubs, but across India’s emerging cities and smaller towns as well.

As India eyes its ambition of becoming a $5 trillion economy, startups will continue to be a key engine of growth, job creation, and technological advancement. With initiatives like this, the government and private sector are sending a clear message — that the future of India’s innovation economy will be collaborative, inclusive, and globally competitive.

In essence, this DPIIT–Primus Partners alliance marks another crucial step in building a more resilient, future-ready startup ecosystem — one that empowers Indian founders to dream big, build boldly, and lead globally.