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Minister of Railways, Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food and Public Distribution, Piyush Goyal, launched the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) on Monday.
As per the scheme, a ₹945 crore corpus will be allocated over the next four years for providing seed funding to eligible startups through eligible incubators across India. The scheme is expected to support an estimated 3,600 startups through 300 incubators, stated a release.
The scheme aims to provide financial assistance to startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialisation. The scheme was announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 16, 2021, marking the five-year anniversary of the Startup India initiative, it said.
Goyal said that this scheme is being launched within three months of its announcement, one of the fastest in recent times. The minister said that the scheme will secure seed funding, inspire innovation, support transformative ideas, facilitate implementation, and start a startup revolution. He said that the scheme would create a robust startup ecosystem, particularly in tier 2 and tier 3 towns of India, which are often deprived of adequate funding.
The minister said that he would like to especially encourage innovators from rural areas to come forward and benefit from the scheme. Goyal said that under the guidance of Prime Minister Modi, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has worked tirelessly to bring a tectonic shift in the start-up ecosystem in India.
A release said that the department has been acting as the facilitator, with an open door, open arms and open mind, encouraging large-scale youth participation in the innovative activities. The minister said that there has been change in the approach and mindset in job seekers to job providers, which is helping start-ups become the backbone of new India .
Online portal
The online portal created by DPIIT for the scheme will allow incubators to apply for funds under it. An Experts Advisory Committee (EAC) has been created by DPIIT to execute and monitor the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme. Grants upto ₹5 crore shall be provided to the eligible incubators selected by the EAC. The selected startups shall be provided grants of up to ₹20 lakh for validation of proof of concept, prototype development or product trials to startups.
Furthermore, investments of up to ₹50 lakh shall be provided to the startups for market entry, commercialisation, or scaling up through convertible debentures or debt-linked instruments.
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