The Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) launched by the Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution Piyush Goyal will benefit around 3,600 startups. 

The Fund aims to provide financial assistance to start-ups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry, and commercialization.

Rs. 945 crore corpus will be divided over the next 4 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.

Speaking on the occasion, Goyal said that this scheme is being launched within 3 months of its announcement, one of the fastest in  recent times. He said that times are tough, but our resolve is strong, and never before has it become more important for us to empower our startups.

The minister said that the SISFS will secure seed funding, inspire innovation, support transformative ideas, facilitate implementation, and start start-up revolution. He said that this scheme will create a robust start-up 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 this scheme.

He said that Startup India Seed Fund Scheme will act as a bridge between ideas and their implementation. Independent and ambitious thinking in the startup ecosystem will encourage entrepreneurship and create a culture that will recognise innovation

An Experts Advisory Committee (EAC) has been created by DPIIT to execute and monitor the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme. Grants of upto Rs. 5 crore shall be provided to the eligible incubators selected by the EAC. The selected incubators shall provide grants of up to Rs. 20 lakh for validation of Proof of Concept, or prototype development, or product trials to startups. Furthermore, investments of up to Rs. 50 lakh shall be provided to the startups for market entry, commercialization, or scaling up through convertible debentures or debt-linked instruments.

The Seed Fund Scheme also envisions to promote virtual incubation for startups by enabling 300 incubators to support startups from all corners of the country. The impact of this will be visible by the spur of innovations in tier 2 and tier 3 regions of India.