Haryana To Encourage Investors To Create INR 2,000 Cr ‘Fund Of Funds’ For Startups

In the state’s budget for 2025-26, Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini said the state government will be encouraging private investors to contribute INR 2,000 Cr for a “Fund of Funds” aimed at bolstering the state’s startup ecosystem. 

In his budget speech, Saini said that the said fund will help establish Haryana as a major hub of innovation and entrepreneurship. 

To further boost the startup culture within the state, the CM said that he held interactions with 60 startup founders on January 4 for their suggestions on promoting entrepreneurship at a grass root level. 

“They (the said founders) provided valuable suggestions to promote entrepreneurship among school and college students, including launching startups, internships, offering mentorship, and developing affordable infrastructure for them. Accepting all their suggestions related to product design, branding and sales, I have instructed Haryana Venture Capital Fund to work on them expeditiously,” Saini said in his budget speech. 

The Haryana Venture Capital Fund was announced by the state government back in March 2023 with a budget of INR 200 Cr under its ‘Padma’ programme to accelerate development for MSME Advancement. 

It is pertinent to mention that the state was home to 8,400 DPIIT-recognised startups as of January 31, 2025. In DPIIT’s States’ Startup Ranking 2024, the department put Haryana in the ‘Aspiring leaders category’, alongside Bihar, Andaman & Nicobar and Nagaland. 

While it trails a large chunk of Indian states in terms of startup adoption till now, the Haryana government has set its sight on converting Haryana into a startup hub in recent times.  

Earlier in January, possibly during his aforesaid meeting with the startup founders, Saini had shared a vision of tripling the number of startups in the near future. 

To encourage students in the state to take to entrepreneurship at an early age, the CM also proposed to organise entrepreneurship competitions in every district from the academic session 2025-26. The competition will see the government provide an INR 1 Lakh prize to selected teams to help them convert their ideas into business models.

Besides, the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) will also be setting up incubation centres across all industrial estates in the state to facilitate startups to work at affordable rates, the CM added. 

Currently, the state government provides six fiscal incentive schemes to support startups in the state under the Haryana State Startup Policy 2022. These include a seed grant of up to INR 10 Lakh, 100% reimbursement of up to INR 25 Lakh for patent registrations, among other incentives. 

Addressing that the startup policy requires amendments as of now, Saini said a new draft for the policies would be prepared within 2025-26. 

Haryana’s New Age Tech Focus 

To channelise the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, the Haryana state government is also considering the establishment of a Haryana AI Mission. For the mission, Saini said that the World Bank has extended a support of INR 474 Cr as an initial assurance for the initiative. 

In his speech, the CM said that due to the state government’s focus on e-governance over the past decade, many departments currently possess large sets of data related to citizen services. Under the freshly proposed AI mission, the government will automate its governance and public services for more efficient, data-driven policy making. 

“Through this AI Mission, one hub each will be established in Gurugram and Panchkula. These hubs will train over 50,000 youth and professionals from Haryana in cutting-edge technologies, equipping them for new job opportunities and future challenges,” the CM added.

Another emerging tech that the CM focussed on during his speech was electric vehicles. Outlining its aim to have 30% of its total vehicle fleet consist of EVs within the next 5 years, the government is set to purchase new EVs for its departments. Besides, the state will also be purchasing 375 e-buses in FY26.