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India is going through the era of startups, where the country is creating a robust ecosystem for businesses and entrepreneurs. India is now called the 'Startup Hub' as it has more than 99,000 startups, and 107 unicorn companies worth $30 billion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started several initiatives to help the budding entrepreneurs.
The government initiatives aim to provide technical support, subsidies, financial assistance, and other services to help startups grow and mark their presence in the global business domain. Government backing helps startups to get worldwide recognition and attract foreign investors.
Government schemes to support Indian startups
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)
The scheme was launched by the government in 2016, and the scheme aims to foster innovation as the government creates new programs and policies to assist start-up development in several economic areas.
The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) grants approximately Rs 10 crores to finance firms over five years. This scheme can be utilised by all the emerging organisations in health, agriculture, education, transportation, etc.
Multiplier Grant Scheme (MGS)
The Department of Electronics and Information Technology initiated the Multiplier Grant Scheme (MGS) to empower collaborative research and development among industries for the growth of goods and services. The government gives a maximum amount of Rs 2 crore per project for a duration of less than two years.
Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme (DEDS)
The Department of Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, and Dairying has launched the DEDS scheme, which aims to create self-employment in the dairy sector. The activities include milk production, procurement, preservation, marketing, etc. The DEDS scheme offers back-end capital for bankable projects for 25 per cent of total project cost for general category candidates and 33.33 per cent for farms that belong to the SC/ST category.
Startup India Initiative
This is one of the most popular government schemes for startups in India. The Startup India Initiative aims to provide tax benefits to entrepreneurs for over five years.
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As of now, the government has recognised 114,458 startups by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). To recognise startups under this government scheme, the maximum age for eligible startups is 7 years; for biotechnology companies, the age is 10 years after the date of establishment.
Startup India Seed Fund Scheme
The government of India introduced this scheme in January 2021 to assist early-stage startups. The selected entrepreneurs under this scheme will get the funding of Rs 5 crore. Startups will receive up to Rs 20 lakhs for developing concepts or demonstrations and up to Rs 50 lakhs for growing their goods or services. Over 1000 startups have received more than Rs 177 crore under the Startup India seed fund scheme.
