Commerce Ministry notifies Rs 945 crore seed fund for startups

3AI February 2, 2021

DPIIT said that preference would be given to startups offering solutions in sectors including social impact, waste management, water management, financial inclusion, education, agriculture, food processing, biotechnology, healthcare, energy, mobility, defence, space, railways, oil and gas, textiles, etc.

The government has approved the Rs 945-crore Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) for the period 2021-25 to offer early-stage funding to startups for “proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialization,” implementing body Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said in its notification. Startups across sectors registered with the DPIIT and incorporated not more than two years ago at the time of applying for the scheme will be eligible for securing capital. The funding will be disbursed through selected incubators assisted by the central government or state governments.

“We are on course to implement the scheme wef 1 April ‘21,” DPIIT Joint Secretary Anil Agrawal tweeted on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier this month announced the seed fund at the Startup India’s international summit Prarambh. In his address, PM Modi had said that the government is taking steps to ensure that there is no shortage of capital for startups and that the government will also help startups to raise debt capital ahead by providing the guarantee.

Apart from the two-year incorporation window, DPIIT said that preference would be given to startups offering solutions in sectors including social impact, waste management, water management, financial inclusion, education, agriculture, food processing, biotechnology, healthcare, energy, mobility, defence, space, railways, oil and gas, textiles, etc. Also, eligible startups should not have received over Rs 10 lakh of monetary support under any other Central or State Government scheme and that founders should have at least 51 per cent stake at the time of application to the incubator for the scheme.

The selected incubators will disburse up to Rs 20 lakhs as grant to startups for their validation of proof of concept, or prototype development, or product trials. This grant will be disbursed in milestone-based installments that can be related to the development of prototype, product testing, building a product ready for market launch, etc. Further, up to Rs 50 lakhs will be offered to startups for market entry, commercialization, or scaling up through convertible debentures or debt or debt-linked instruments.

The government also announced eligibility criteria for incubators assisted by the central government or state governments to participate in the scheme that included at least two years of operability on the date of applying for the scheme, capacity to seat at least 25 individuals, at least five startups undergoing incubation at the time of application of the scheme. The scheme will be executed and monitored by an Experts Advisory Committee (EAC) to be set-up by DPIIT. EAC will evaluate incubators to provide grants of up to Rs 5 crore in milestone-based three or more installments.

Picture from freepik.com

SEBA Bank Fundraising Fuels Growth For Providing Smart Banking

FINMA licenced Swiss Seba Bank – who already provide a seamless, secure and easy-to-use bridge between digital and traditional assets – approved the completion of its Series B capital increase at its Extraordinary General Meeting today. SEBA Bank is primed to fuel and accelerate its growth strategy according to the team. Guido Bühler, CEO […]

How can AI help in achieving better Sustainability?

Featured Article: Author: Vijay Karna, Digital Transformation Executive, Cyient Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing various industries by enabling faster decision-making, increasing efficiency, and improving productivity. Additionally, AI can also play a critical role in driving sustainability efforts across industries. From reducing carbon footprint to conserving natural resources, AI has the potential to enable more sustainable […]

Transforming Product Experience: How Generative AI is changing the game for Microsoft, Oracle, and AWS

Featured Article: Author: Abhishek Tandon, Director, Customer Success for Fosfor, LTIMindtree Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the way we interact with technology, and one of its most intriguing applications is conversational AI. Chatbots and virtual assistants have become increasingly popular, enabling businesses to provide personalized and efficient customer experiences. Companies like Microsoft, Oracle, and Amazon […]

Transforming Indian Judiciary with GPT4

Featured Article: Author: Vivek Gupta, Founder & CEO, Softsensor.ai Indian judiciary suffers significant backlog with 35 million cases across many courts. Assuming that each case requires about 100 pages of drafting, we are looking at about 3.5 billion pages to be drafted. Each page takes about 30 mins, we are looking at 100 billion minutes […]

India's largest platform and marketplace for GCCs & AI

3AI Digital Library