STPI 2.0: India’s Digital Engine Revs Up for Inclusive Tech Growth Beyond Metro Cities
July 13, 2025 - Three decades after it quietly began building India’s tech backbone, the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) is stepping into a bold new role—driving inclusive digital transformation from the nation’s smallest towns to its largest innovation hubs.
Set up in 1991 under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), STPI initially helped India’s budding IT exporters with software certifications, tax holidays, and access to high-speed data infrastructure. Today, it's rebranding itself as “STPI 2.0,” with a mission to decentralize India’s IT boom and turn small cities into the next wave of digital powerhouses.
“Our 2.0 growth focus is to trigger entrepreneurship in software, products, and business process management (BPM) across India—not just in big cities,” said Arvind Kumar, Director General of STPI, in an interview with The Hindu.
“This will also lead to a huge amount of job creation and economic growth.”
From Three Cities to Sixty-Seven Centres: The STPI Journey
When STPI began operations, it was limited to Bengaluru, Pune, and Bhubaneswar. High-speed internet was a luxury, software exports were barely understood, and desktop computers were expensive imports.
“Back then, exporting software or even certifying it was a mystery. STPI was the only body with a stable broadband connection,” Kumar recalled.
Fast forward to 2025: STPI now runs 67 centres, with 59 of them in tier-2 and tier-3 cities—a deliberate move to decentralize India’s tech growth.
A New Digital Mandate: Tier-2 and Tier-3 Cities Take Centre Stage
The government's focus has now shifted to addressing why major tech growth hasn’t happened in cities like Lucknow, Chandigarh, or Ranchi. That’s where STPI comes in.
To bridge this digital divide, the agency has already created 17 lakh sq. ft. of incubation space in smaller cities for aspiring tech startups and MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises).
“We want to provide immediate support to fresh engineering graduates from smaller towns, so they can launch startups without needing to relocate to Bengaluru or Hyderabad,” said Kumar.
Fostering Innovation: The Product & Startup Push
One of STPI’s biggest moves is to build India’s largest technology startup ecosystem. As part of the National Policy on Software Products (NPSP) 2019, the agency is actively pushing India towards becoming a software product nation.
In the last three years alone:
- 1,500+ startups have been incubated
- 800+ IPRs (Intellectual Property Rights) have been filed
- 2,000+ product innovations have emerged
- Over ₹600 crore in startup funding was raised
- ₹565 crore in revenue was generated
To support this, STPI has set up 24 Centres of Entrepreneurship across India, each focused on building a startup culture in the software product domain.
India's Software Export Landscape: Services Dominate, But Products Catch Up
In FY 2024–25, STPI-registered units alone achieved software exports worth ₹10.59 lakh crore, or approximately $110 billion—more than half of India’s total $200 billion IT exports.
Most of these exports stem from IT and ITeS services. In comparison, India’s software product exports lag at around $12 billion, with domestic software product revenue at $17 billion.
“While India leads in IT services, we still lag in product exports. STPI’s mission is to change that and enable India to lead in software products globally,” Kumar said.
Bridging the Skills Gap: Incubation, Training, and Funding
Beyond physical infrastructure, STPI is also focusing on:
- Mentorship and training for young entrepreneurs
- Access to early-stage capital and funding assistance
- Market connect programs to help startups scale and export globally
These initiatives are expected to generate thousands of new jobs, especially in smaller cities where youth often struggle for quality employment.
What Lies Ahead: The STPI Vision
With the digital economy projected to hit $1 trillion by 2030, India needs inclusive infrastructure that goes beyond tech parks in metros. STPI’s model offers just that—a combination of policy support, grassroots incubation, skilling, and innovation funding.
“STPI is no longer just a support body for software exports. It is a catalyst for entrepreneurship, product innovation, and inclusive digital growth,” Kumar added.
Final Thoughts from The Trending People
As India aims for global digital leadership, the reimagining of STPI could be the critical game-changer. From Bhubaneswar to Bhopal, from Kochi to Kanpur—India’s next unicorns may not emerge from Silicon Valley replicas, but from tier-2 and tier-3 cities empowered by STPI 2.0.
By turning these regions into tech-ready innovation hubs, India is rewriting its digital success story—and STPI is holding the pen.