The trend of startups and starting their own businesses among college students in India is growing rapidly. Now the youth do not want to be limited to getting jobs in government jobs or big companies but are also showing interest in making a career through their own business. According to IIT Mandi’s GUESSS India 2025 report, 22% of college students in the country have started their own business, while 43% of students want to become entrepreneurs. The report also revealed that there has been an increase in the number of students starting startups after completing their studies.

22% students have started their own business

The GUESSS India 2025 survey, prepared in collaboration with IIT Mandi and Bengaluru-based Rewa University, included 25,783 students from over 1,200 higher education institutions across 34 states and union territories of the country. According to the report, 22% of the students have started their own business. This figure is close to the global average of 23%.

Talking about student businesses, 35.5% of student entrepreneurs with regular sales said that their business is consistently making money. This shows that student startups are not just limited to business ideas, but many youngsters are converting them into real businesses.

Instead of government jobs, there is a growing interest in startups

According to the report, the proportion of students wanting to start their own business immediately after completing their studies was 14% in 2023, rising to 16.2% in 2025. In contrast, the number of students preferring government jobs dropped from 12.7% to 10.1%. At the same time, the proportion of students wanting to work in large companies also dropped from 31.3% to 27.4%. These statistics show that the youth are considering new career options.

Youth looking for opportunities in fields like IT and AI

Student entrepreneurs are looking for opportunities in fields like Information Technology (IT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Services. 31% of student businesses were started with regular sales in 2025. About 42% of these students were running two or more businesses. The report also revealed that nearly 41% of successful student entrepreneurs closed their old business before starting a new one. This shows that young people are not deterred from trying again even after failure.

Success can be increased with proper guidance

According to the survey, students who have entrepreneurs in their family, friends, classmates or teachers are three times more likely to start a business. However, almost half of Indian students said they did not know any entrepreneurs other than their parents. Differences also emerged between male and female students. Among women who wanted to start a business, 45% started their own business, while the figure was 53% among men.

The report recommends universities, incubators and government to connect students with experienced entrepreneurs. It is also said that converting a business idea into a real business requires attention to first sales, preparation of prototypes and registration of the business.