In Delhi’s policy corridors, transfers and new appointments are routine. But every now and then, a bureaucratic transition says something larger about the direction in which the government wants to move. Sumeet Jarangal’s appointment as Joint Secretary at the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, after his stint as Director handling Startup India initiatives, is one such moment.
Because this is not merely about a change in designation. It is also about the evolution of India’s startup story itself.
Over the last few years, Startup India has shifted from being a government slogan to becoming a recognisable national movement. Somewhere in that transition were officials like Jarangal, working largely away from television cameras and headline politics, but helping shape the architecture that connected founders, investors, state governments and institutions.
In his reflection on the journey, Jarangal looked back at some of the initiatives that came to define this phase. National Startup Day, for instance, was not designed as just another commemorative event. It gradually became a platform that gave legitimacy and visibility to entrepreneurs across sectors and cities, including many beyond the usual Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi startup triangle.
Then came the Startup Rankings Framework for the States. In one sense, it was a policy initiative. In another sense, however, it quietly unleashed competitive federalism in the startup ecosystem. The states started comparing themselves among each other, improving their policies, and creating an ecosystem as none of them wanted to fall behind.
And perhaps the biggest symbol of this momentum was Startup Mahakumbh.
Anyone who walked through the event could sense the scale of ambition on display. Founders pitching ideas, investors scouting opportunities, policymakers sharing stages with entrepreneurs, corporates looking for the next disruption. It was India’s startup ecosystem putting itself on public display with confidence.
Jarangal also referenced his work around One District One Product and Brand India, initiatives that sit at the intersection of local enterprise and national identity. In a country as vast and uneven as India, the challenge has always been this: how do you ensure growth is not confined to a few urban pockets? The answer increasingly lies in strengthening local production ecosystems while giving them national visibility.
What stood out in Jarangal’s note was its tone. There was no triumphalism. Instead, there was acknowledgement. He thanked senior officials, colleagues and ecosystem partners, especially Sanjiv Singh for mentorship and leadership. In Delhi’s bureaucratic culture, where institutional memory often disappears behind formal files and official language, that kind of public gratitude still stands out.
As Joint Secretary, Jarangal will be working in both Consumer Industry and Light Engineering Industry, sectors that do not necessarily attract the most prime-time coverage but are vital for India’s industrial aspirations.
And perhaps that is where the larger story lies.
India today stands at an interesting economic crossroads. Startups have created energy and aspiration. Manufacturing remains the unfinished agenda. The real challenge is connecting innovation with production, enterprise with scale and policy with execution.
Jarangal’s own words captured that thought neatly. India’s enterprises, he said, should not just grow fast. They should grow with purpose, scale and national impact.
In the end, that may well become the real test of India’s next economic chapter.
