In The Lift-Off Nation, Rajan Anandan and Saurabh Srivastava make the case that India’s startup moment is now
India’s startups are now worth more than $400 billion combined, and they got there in about a decade. The country’s entire IT services industry took 35 years to reach about $325 billion.The Lift-Off Nation: Why We Are Entering the Golden Age of Indian Startups, published by Juggernaut, argues this is just the beginning. It is written by two people who helped build the ecosystem they write about: Rajan Anandan, Managing Director at Peak XV Partners and former head of Google India and Southeast Asia, and Saurabh Srivastava, co-founder of NASSCOM, TiE and IAN Group and a Padma Shri recipient.
Based on more than 180 interviews with founders, CEOs, investors, policymakers and academics, The Lift-Off Nation makes the case that India, which once accounted for 25 per cent of global GDP, can rise again by harnessing its startups.
The authors give five reasons why India’s startup moment is now:
- World-class talent is starting up.India's first big startups like Flipkart, InMobi and Zoho became training grounds. A new generation of founders learned how to build and scale at these “founder factories”, and they're now starting their own. Others are coming home after building products and services at the world's largest companies.
- Innovation is happening in every sector. The authors call it a “Cambrian explosion”. Founders in India today are building in consumer brands, financial services, healthcare, space, AI, semiconductors and more.
- Many founders are building for global markets from day one. 40% of new seed funded startups in 2025 were building for the world from the outset, and this too is happening across sectors.
- The availability of venture capital has increased and public markets are open to startup IPOs. Venture funding has grown sharply over the past decade. There is no dearth of capital today for good ideas. Moreover, startup IPOs, which were once a rarity have become routine. That gives investors a clear way to exit, which brings more capital back into the ecosystem.
- The government is an enabler. Regulatory reforms have made it easier to start and grow a business. Digital public infrastructure like Aadhaar and UPI has given startups a solid foundation to grow and scale. The government has also proactively opened up sectors such as space and defence to private players. The space sector, in particular, has seen tremendous growth: In just six years since opening it to private players (in 2020), India boasts over 400 space-tech startups; the US, in comparison, has 900 space startups but has been open to private players for decades.
That is what makes this moment different.
The book is equally candid about the speedbumps ahead. Chief among them is research and development, which the authors call ‘quite possibly our biggest Achilles heel’. India spends just 0.65 per cent of its GDP on R&D, compared with 2.6 per cent for China and 3.5 per cent for the US. According to the authors, India must raise this to at least 3 per cent to compete. The authors describe the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) and the ₹1 lakh crore Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund as ‘bold, promising initiatives’.Speaking about the book, Rajan Anandan, Managing Director, Peak XV Partners, said, "The time is NOW for Indian innovation and entrepreneurship. The building blocks are in place, and we are ready for lift-off. The next two decades will see an unprecedented rise in Indian innovation - not just across every industry in India, but also as Indian companies build for the world."
Saurabh Srivastava, co-founder of NASSCOM, TiE and the Indian Angel Network, said, "The core argument of our book is that Viksit Bharat is possible by 2047, and it will change the trajectory of India if it happens. There’s no reason today why it should not happen. Our entrepreneurs, who create the economy, are on a roll."
The Lift-Off Nation is published by Juggernaut Books, is now available in bookstores across India and online on Amazon and Flipkart.
About the Authors
Rajan Anandan is Managing Director at Peak XV Partners, where he focuses on AI and deep-tech investments and leads Surge, the firm’s seed-stage investing platform. He previously headed Google India and Southeast Asia, and led Microsoft and Dell in India. Before becoming a full-time investor, he backed more than 200 startups as an angel investor. He is a member of the National Startup Advisory Council.Saurabh Srivastava is one of India’s leading entrepreneurs, investors and institution-builders. He co-founded NASSCOM, the IVCA, TiE and the Indian Angel Network, India’s first angel investor group, and is a former Chairman of NASSCOM. He chairs TDB’s investment committee for the RDI Fund. He was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, in 2016.
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