Pariksha SaathiDPIIT launches the 6th edition of the National Startup Awards (NSA 6.0) with 20 sectoral and 3 special categories; applications open from 27 October to 20 November 2026
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has launched the 6th edition of the National Startup Awards (NSA 6.0) under the Startup India initiative to recognise innovation and entrepreneurship and strengthen India's startup ecosystem, the Ministry said on 27 October 2026. Applications open on 27 October 2026 and will remain open until 20 November 2026 through the official Startup India portal (www.startupindia.gov.in). NSA 6.0 will recognise startups across 20 sectoral categories and three special award categories; this edition introduces 12 new sectoral categories, among them Biomanufacturing; Defence & Security; Electronics, Semiconductors & Advanced Manufacturing; Ocean & Blue Economy; and Space-Tech, Drones & Aerospace. The three special award categories are Women-Led Startup of the Year, North-East Startup Excellence and the newly introduced Student Innovator / Aspiring Entrepreneur Award, which aims to foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship among school and college students across all 36 States and Union Territories. Winning startups across the 20 sectoral categories and the two startup-focused special categories will be eligible for a cash prize of ₹25 lakh per category, subject to the applicable award guidelines, while the Student Innovator / Aspiring Entrepreneur Award will carry a total prize pool of ₹25 lakh across four sub-categories. The year 2026 marks the completion of ten years of the Startup India initiative, launched in January 2016, and since their inception in 2019 the National Startup Awards have emerged as a flagship initiative under it. Besides monetary recognition, the awards seek to facilitate mentorship, investor engagement, market access, industry partnerships and visibility, and NSA 6.0 aims to encourage participation from startups across States and Union Territories, including emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
Startup India was launched on 16 January 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, envisioned as a transformative initiative to nurture innovation, promote entrepreneurship and enable investment-driven growth, with a vision of India being a nation of job creators instead of job seekers; in 2022 the Prime Minister declared 16 January as National Startup Day. On National Startup Day, 16 January 2026, as the initiative completed ten years, DPIIT announced the results of the fifth edition of the National Startup Awards (NSA 5.0), spread across 20 award categories, and of the fifth edition of the States' Startup Ranking Framework (SRF 5.0), in which Gujarat (Category A) and Arunachal Pradesh and Goa (Category B) were named Best Performers. According to that release, more than 2,00,000 startups had been recognised by DPIIT by then, and Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal recalled that the Government had constituted a Fund of Funds worth ₹10,000 crore in 2016 to provide seed capital to startups.
Check yourself: when was Startup India launched, which date did the Prime Minister declare National Startup Day in 2022, and across how many award categories was NSA 5.0 spread?
On 16 January 2016; 16 January; 20 award categories (results announced on 16 January 2026).
Revision task: from this release, note the edition, application dates and portal of the National Startup Awards 2026, the numbers of sectoral, new sectoral and special categories, the newly introduced special award and the cash prizes; from the note, when Startup India was launched, National Startup Day, the NSA 5.0 and SRF 5.0 results and the Fund of Funds for startups.
Test yourself
Which special award category has been introduced for the first time in the 6th edition of the National Startup Awards (NSA 6.0), for which applications open on 27 October 2026?
Show the answer
Answer: Student Innovator / Aspiring Entrepreneur
The three special award categories of NSA 6.0 are Women-Led Startup of the Year, North-East Startup Excellence and the newly introduced Student Innovator / Aspiring Entrepreneur Award, introduced for the first time to foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship among school and college students across all 36 States and Union Territories; it will carry a total prize pool of ₹25 lakh across four sub-categories. Applications are open until 20 November 2026.
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