Third-party will assess Startup India Seed Fund Scheme: DPIIT

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) will now seek the third-party assessment of the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme, a senior official revealed on Friday. The DPIIT has taken this step to ensure the on-ground impact of startups.

The department has received 'good' feedback from incubators and startups on the scheme, Shruti Singh, Joint Secretary, DPIIT, said.

"We are still doing a third-party assessment so that somebody on the ground can go and see," she said, adding that so far, more than 8,500 startups have registered with the DPIIT.

Launched in 2021, the four-part Rs 945 crore scheme provides financial support to early-stage startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, their entry to the market, and finally, commercialisation of their products. The support is provided to eligible startups through incubators set across the country.

Under the Startup India initiative, launched in January 2016, the government has implemented the Fund of Funds and Startup India Seed Fund schemes.

According to the joint secretary, of the Rs 10,000 crore Fund of Funds scheme, roughly Rs 7,900 crore has been committed to the Alternate Investment Funds so far. Once the fund is exhausted by 2025, the department plans to seek more funds from the finance ministry.

Further, she mentioned that from the Rs 945 crore Startup India Seed Fund Scheme, Rs 455.25 crore has been approved to 126 incubators, of which Rs 186.15 crore has been disbursed as of November 30.