PM Modi announces Rs 1,000-Cr 'Startup India Seed Fund'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced the launch of Rs 1,000-crore 'Startup India Seed Fund' to support startups and help budding entrepreneurs pursue innovative ideas.

Addressing the 'Prarambh: Startup India International Summit', Modi exuded confidence that the growth of startups will help in generating jobs and improving lives of people in the region.

"In order to provide initial capital for startups, the nation is launching a Rs 1,000 crore Startup India Seed Fund. This will help in setting up new startups and promote their growth," the Prime Minister said.

The summit marked the fifth anniversary of the Startup India initiative launched by Modi on this day in 2016.

The government, Modi added, has been implementing the Fund of Fund Scheme to help startups raise equity capital.

Going forward, the government will also help startups in raising debt capital, he added.

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India, the Prime Minister said, is home to the world's third-largest startup ecosystem which has helped several budding entrepreneurs to come up with innovative technologies and become big corporations.

He further said that startups in India are not limited to big cities and about 40 percent of such budding entrepreneurs are coming from Tier-II and -III cities.

Modi said in 2014 there were only four startups in the unicorn club, but today there are more than 30.

He informed that 11 startups entered the unicorn club in 2020 itself. India is the world's third-largest startup ecosystem. There are over 41,000 startups in the country.

On Jan 15, Union minister Piyush Goyal exhorted Indian investors to eye the BIMSTEC nations for greater engagement through investments, mentoring and support to foster the larger ecosystem for startups in the region.

Addressing 'Prarambh: The Startup India International Summit', the commerce and industry minister invited startups in India and the BIMSTEC nations to work together as partners and help take the world out of the dark period of the pandemic into a golden new era.

"Today I would like to encourage Indian capital and Indian investors to look at the BIMSTEC region, to look at our neighbours and work towards greater engagement, both through investments, mentoring and support to the larger ecosystem within the BIMSTEC region," Goyal said.

(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context.)