Startup India Seed Fund Scheme
- August 15, 2022
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
No Comments
Startup India Seed Fund Scheme
Subject : Economy
Section: Fiscal Policy
Context:
- The Scheme was announced during the ‘Prarambh: StartupIndia International Summit’ which marked the five-year anniversary of the Startup India initiative.
About the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS):
- Aim: To provide financial assistance to startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry, and commercialization.
- Launched by:Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) with an outlay of Rs. 945 Crore.
- Some Eligibility Conditions:
- A startup, recognized by DPIIT, incorporated not more than 2 years ago at the time of application.
- Startups should not have received more than Rs. 10 lakh of monetary support under any other Central or State Government scheme.
- Features:
- It will support an estimated 3,600 entrepreneurs through 300 incubators in the next 4 years.
- An Experts Advisory Committee (EAC), constituted by DPIIT, will be responsible for the overall execution and monitoring of the Scheme.
- Grants of upto Rs. 5 crore will be provided to the eligible incubators selected by the committee.
- The selected incubators will provide grants of up to Rs. 20 lakh for validation of proof of concept, or prototype development, or product trials to startups.
- Investments of up to Rs. 50 lakh will be provided to the startups for market entry, commercialization, or scaling up through convertible debentures or debt-linked instruments.
- Expected Benefit:
- It will help in creating a robust startup ecosystem in Tier 2 and 3 regions, as the smaller towns in India are often not provided with appropriate funding.
The MAARG Portal
- It is by Startup India is a one stop mentorship platform to facilitate mentorship for startups across diverse sectors, functions, stages, geographies, and backgrounds.
- Startups can connect with academicians, industry experts, successful founders, seasoned investors, and other experts to get personalized advice on growth strategy, seek clarity, and get practical advice.
Startup India
- Startup India was introduced in 2016 as a call to innovators, entrepreneurs, and thinkers of the nation to lead from the front in driving India’s sustainable growth and create large scale employment opportunities.
- The entrepreneurial portal had more than 65,000 startups registered.
- Of which, 100 attained the ‘unicorn’ status recently, bringing the total as of date to 90.
- India is ranked third among global startup ecosystems.
- India’s largest online entrepreneurship platform allows startups to network, access free tools & resources and participate in programs & challenges.