Parliament Question: Startups and Women Entrepreneurship

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO. 2509 TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY, 03rd August, 2026 Startups and Women Entrepreneurship 2509. Shri Anup Sanjay Dhotre: Will the Minister of CORPORATE AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) the number of women-led companies registered under the Companies Act during each of the last three years, State-wise including Maharashtra; (b) the initiatives undertaken by the Government to encourage women entrepreneurs to establish companies in rural and semi-urban areas; (c) whether the Government has undertaken any awareness or facilitation programmes in Maharashtra, particularly in Akola district, for promoting women-led enterprises, if so, the details thereof; (d) whether any assessment has been made regarding the effectiveness of these initiatives; and (e) if so, the details thereof and the further measures proposed to strengthen women entrepreneurship through the corporate ecosystem? ANSWER Minister of State in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs; Minister of State in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways; (Shri Harsh Malhotra)(a) As per Section 149 of the Companies Act, 2013 (the Act), every company is required to have a Board of Directors. As per the second proviso of sub section (1) of section 149, every listed company, every other public company having paid up share capital of one hundred crore rupees or more; or turn over of three hundred crore rupees or more shall appoint at least one women director. Further, Section 203 of the Act mandates that every listed company and every other public company having a paid-up share capital of Rs.10 crore or more shall appoint whole-time Key Managerial Personnel, including a Managing Director, or Chief Executive Officer or Manager and, in their absence, a Whole-time Director. The term leaders of companies is not mentioned in the Act. The state-wise details, including those pertaining to Maharashtra of companies registered under the Act having women directors during the last three years are provided in Annexure-A. (b) No such specific initiative has been undertaken by the Ministry. However, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has undertaken several measures to promote ease of doing business by simplifying the process of incorporation and compliance. These measures are applicable to all entrepreneurs across the country including women entrepreneurs. The details of these measures are provided in Annexure- B. (c) No such specific programmes have been organized by this Ministry. (d) & (e) In view of reply to part (a), (b) & (c) above, such a situation does not arise. *****Annexure A Annexure referred in reply to Part (a) of the unstarred Question No. 2509 for answer in Lok Sabha on 03.08.2026. The states/UTs-wise details of companies registered under the Companies Act, 2013 having women directors during the last three years: S. States/ 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 Total Total UTs Compa Wome No nies n . Direct No Total No of Total No of Total ors Compa Wome Compa Wome Compa Wome nies n nies n nies n Direct Direct Direct ors ors ors 1. Andaman 48 66 20 22 37 44 105 132 and Nicobar Islands 2. Andhra 2190 2757 2406 2980 3791 4667 8387 10404 Pradesh 3. Arunacha 140 251 75 168 94 112 309 531 l Pradesh 4. Assam 1016 1517 766 1016 1083 1310 2865 3843 5. Bihar 3257 4062 2949 3492 4316 5038 10522 12592 6. Chandiga 349 410 257 321 354 434 960 1165 rh 7. Chhattisg 827 1241 778 993 1116 1389 2721 3623 arh 8. Dadra & 10 11 14 21 19 22 43 54 Nagar Haveli 9. Daman 8 9 19 24 21 30 48 63 and Diu 10. Delhi 8649 10332 7815 9407 10299 12421 26763 32160 11. Goa 345 405 384 465 414 501 1143 1371S. States/ 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 Total Total No UTs Compa Wome No Total No Total No Total nies n Compa Wome Compa Wome Compa Wome Direct nies n nies n nies n ors Direct Direct Direct ors ors ors 12. Gujarat 4815 5868 4743 5867 6792 8383 16350 20118 13. Haryana 4938 5935 4943 5928 6686 8100 16567 19963 14. Himachal 415 593 392 564 520 619 1327 1776 Pradesh 15. Jammu & 643 819 561 676 731 856 1935 2351 Kashmir 16. Jharkhan 1125 1602 1021 1298 1483 1843 3629 4743 d 17. Karnatak 8236 10440 7468 9283 9840 12183 25544 31906 a 18. Kerala 3110 3810 3030 3631 4237 5153 10377 12594 19. Lakshad 2 3 - - 6 7 8 10 weep 20. Madhya 2979 3949 2798 3534 3862 4963 9639 12446 Pradesh 21. Maharash 18175 24320 17090 22159 22301 28406 57566 74885 tra 22. Manipur 135 240 124 165 158 202 417 607 23. Meghalay 53 72 43 61 52 67 148 200 a 24. Mizoram 42 54 42 48 31 36 115 138 25. Nagaland 106 165 54 73 50 65 210 303 26. Odisha 1876 2837 1827 2539 2429 3320 6132 8696 27. Puducher 113 150 124 161 145 178 382 489 ry 28. Punjab 1618 1983 1488 1819 1899 2229 5005 603129. Rajasthan 3586 4489 3721 4535 5935 7340 13242 16364 S. States/ 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 Total Total No UTs Compa Wome No Total No Total No Total nies n Compa Wome Compa Wome Compa Wome Direct nies n nies n nies n ors Direct Direct Direct ors ors ors 30. Tamil 7505 9423 7486 9281 10125 12573 25116 31277 Nadu 31. Telangan 7059 8734 6862 8439 9736 11853 23657 29026 a 32. Tripura 100 163 91 128 124 163 315 454 33. Uttar 11140 13734 10200 12467 14559 17789 35899 43990 Pradesh 34. Uttarakha 891 1114 958 1206 1195 1432 3044 3752 nd 35. West 4729 5993 4259 5191 5618 6948 14606 18132 Bengal Grand Total 100230 127551 94808 117962 130058 160676 325096 406189Annexure B Annexure referred in reply to Part (b) of the unstarred Question No. 2509 for answer in Lok Sabha on 03.08.2026 The important measures to promote ease of doing business and simplify the process of incorporation and compliance taken by the Ministry are as follows: (i) The Ministry, vide Notification No. G.S.R. 880(E) dated 01.12.2025, enhanced the threshold limits for classification of Small Companies by increasing the paid-up share capital limit from ₹4 crore to ₹10 crore and the turnover limit from ₹40 crore to ₹100 crore. This enables a larger number of companies to qualify as Small Companies and avail the benefit of simplified compliance requirements, thereby encouraging formalisation and growth of small businesses. (ii) Zero filing fee is charged for incorporation of all companies having an authorised share capital up to ₹15 lakh or, in the case of companies not having share capital, with up to 20 members, thereby reducing the cost of setting up a business. (iii) The Ministry has introduced an integrated web-based incorporation form, SPICe+ along with AGILE-PRO-S, which provides a single-window platform for multiple registrations required for starting a business. Through this integrated system, applicants can obtain the following eleven services simultaneously: i. A single integrated new web form called SPICe+ along with AGILE PRO-S has been deployed. This form provides eleven services related to ‘starting a business’ namely (i) Name Reservation, (ii) Incorporation, (iii) Permanent Account Number (PAN), (iv) Tax Deduction Account Number (TAN), (v) Director Identification Number (DIN), (vi) Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) Registration, (vii) Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Registration, (viii) Goods and Services Tax (GST) number, (ix) Bank Account Number, (x) Profession Tax Registration (Mumbai, Kolkata and Karnataka), (xi) Delhi Shops and Establishment Registration. These measures have simplified the incorporation process, reduced compliance burden and transaction costs, and facilitated the establishment and operation of businesses across the country, including in rural, semi-urban areas.