Govt To Assess On-Ground Impact Of Startup Seed Fund Scheme

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is planning to undertake a third-party assessment of the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme. The move will be undertaken to understand and quantify the scheme’s impact on the ground.

Joint secretary Shruti Singh said that the department was doing a third-party assessment to see the impact on the ground. She added that authorities have so far received ‘good’ feedback from incubators and startups enrolled in the scheme.

Singh said that the recently announced Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience and Growth (MAARG) portal would go live on January 16. 

Speaking to reporters, she highlighted that more than 85,000 were currently registered with the DPIIT, adding that INR 7,900 Cr has so far been committed to Alternate Investment Funds out of the total INR 10,000 Cr outlay of the Fund of Funds Scheme (FFS).

Responding to queries, Singh said that the department could seek more funds from the Union Finance Ministry under the scheme by 2025.

The slew of announcements come close on the heels of the National Startup Day, which is scheduled on January 16. In the run up to the day, the DPIIT, along with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, will organise a week-long Startup India Innovation Week, beginning January 10.

The government has planned 75 startup-related events across the country as part of the celebrations and will also organise sessions for relevant stakeholders to promote entrepreneurship. 

Startup India Seed Fund Scheme, FFS, MAARG portal and the credit guarantee are the major pillars of the government’s plan to spur the startup ecosystem in the country. 

Established in 2021, with an outlay of INR 945 Cr, the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme aims to provide financial assistance and mentorship to startups across multiple stages of development.

Similarly, the FFS scheme was launched in 2016, with a fund size of INR 10,000 Cr, to enable startups to access domestic capital. 

The MAARG portal is a one-stop resource platform for all industry stakeholders and allows budding entrepreneurs to seek counsel from established players and industry leaders. 

Overall, around 656 startups have been incubated under the seed fund scheme in the past two years. Besides, an additional 773 startups have also been supported under the FFS scheme. 

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