Startup Revolution Beyond Metros: Government Accelerates Innovation in Smaller Cities Through NGIS

For years, India’s startup story has been told through the skylines of Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, and Hyderabad. But while the metros shaped the early chapters, the country’s next wave of innovation is rising far away from these bustling hubs—in smaller cities, college towns, and emerging tech clusters that were once considered far from the startup spotlight.

This shift is no accident. It is a deliberate national push backed by policy, investment, and incubation support. And now, the government has revealed just how deeply this movement is taking root.

In a written reply to Parliament, Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Jitin Prasada, shared fresh data highlighting the government’s strong focus on driving entrepreneurship in Tier-II and Tier-III cities through the Next Generation Incubation Scheme (NGIS)—a flagship initiative implemented by the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI).

The message was clear: India’s innovation map is expanding—and smaller cities are becoming the new centres of gravity.

Building a Startup Nation Beyond the Big Four

Launched with the vision of democratising access to high-quality incubation, NGIS aims to give early-stage startups in non-metro regions the same opportunities and infrastructure available in established tech hubs.

From mentorship and stipends to advanced labs, co-working, seed funding, and market linkages, the scheme creates a fully equipped support ecosystem—ensuring entrepreneurs no longer need to migrate to bigger cities to build dream ventures.

According to the Minister’s update, 686 startups across the country’s emerging cities have already been supported under NGIS. These startups span diverse sectors—from deep-tech ventures in Bhilai to SaaS innovators in Mohali and agritech disruptors in Bhubaneswar—each reflecting the unique entrepreneurial energy of its region.

To power this expanding footprint, the government has so far utilised ₹67.84 crore under the scheme.

A Nation-Wide Spread of Innovation

The data submitted to Parliament offers a fascinating snapshot of India’s new startup clusters—places steadily transforming into the country’s next innovation hotspots:

City & State-Wise Startup Support Under NGIS

Total: 686 startups supported

This spread tells a powerful story. Cities like Vijayawada, Bhubaneswar, and Jaipur have emerged as strong early leaders—each fostering more than 100 supported startups. Meanwhile, cities like Lucknow, Mohali, and Bhopal continue gaining momentum as fast-growing tech destinations.

Fueling India’s Distributed Innovation Future

The rising strength of smaller cities in India’s startup chart represents more than just geographic expansion. It reflects a fundamental shift in how innovation is built, financed, and scaled in the country.

For decades, talent from non-metro regions migrated en masse to bigger cities in search of opportunities. NGIS is reversing this flow—bringing opportunities to where talent already exists.

By building incubation capacity in diverse regions, the government is:

• Unlocking local talent pools

• Supporting region-specific innovation themes

• Driving new job creation outside saturated metros

• Encouraging balanced economic development

• Strengthening India's position as a globally competitive innovation hub

The scheme is now widely seen as a cornerstone of India’s efforts to create a truly inclusive and distributed startup ecosystem—one where every aspiring founder, regardless of geography, has a fair shot at innovation.

As India positions itself as one of the world’s fastest-growing startup landscapes, NGIS represents a quiet but powerful revolution—one enabling entrepreneurs from cities like Agartala, Prayagraj, or Bhilai to dream on the same scale as those in Bengaluru or Gurgaon.

With more cities entering the startup map and thousands of young founders stepping into the innovation economy, India’s next unicorn—or the next breakthrough technology—may just emerge from a place that was once overlooked.

For now, the numbers speak for themselves: 686 startups, multiple emerging hubs, and a growing belief that innovation belongs everywhere.

NGIS is not just building startups. It is expanding the very definition of where India’s future can be built.