Over 20% Indian college students already started business: IIT Mandi survey

New Delhi: More than one in five Indian college students (22 per cent) have already started a business, almost matching the global average of 23 per cent, according to a survey by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi.

The survey found that 43 in 100 Indian students want to start a business, the same as the global average. Of those who start, 35.5 per cent already have regular sales.

The report titled 'How do we make student entrepreneurs' is based on survey of 25,783 students from more than 1,200 higher-education institutions in 34 states and Union territories conducted between September-December 2025 in collaboration with REVA University, Bengaluru, and GUESSS India, the Indian chapter of the Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students' Survey.


According to the survey, more students now want to start up straight after college. The share who want to run their own business right after their studies rose from 14 per cent in the 2023 survey to 16.2 per cent in 2025.

"Over the same period, the share who want a government job right after studies fell from 12.7 per cent to 10.1 per cent, and the share who want a job in a large company fell from 31.3 per cent to 27.4 per cent. India's student founders are also quick to act and quick to try again. Thirty-one per cent of student businesses with regular sales were founded in 2025 alone," it said.

Puran Singh, Associate Professor at the School of Management, IIT Mandi, and Country Delegate for GUESSS India, who led the survey, said 41 per cent of India's student founders have already closed an earlier business and started again and 42 per cent run two or more businesses.

"India's students are as ambitious as any in the world, and those who start are building real businesses that already hire people. Courses, dedicated programmes

and campus incubators are clearly working. The opportunity now is to put more founders in students' lives and help them take a real first step early. Then we count how many students move from ambition to action; not just how many talk about creating a startup," Singh added.

The findings show that IT, AI and digital is the most common plan by student founders, but only about one in 10 running student businesses is digital.

The survey also found that students with founders in their circle (relatives, friends, classmates, teachers) are three times more likely to start a venture.