PM Modi announces Rs 1,000-cr ‘Startup India Seed Fund’

• India govt announces Rs 1,000-cr 'Startup India Seed Fund'

• PM Modi interacted with Startups on Day two of the 'Prarambh -Startup India International Summit'

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Day two of the 'Prarambh -Startup India International Summit' announced the launch of Rs 1,000-crore 'Startup India Seed Fund'. The fund will support startups and help budding entrepreneurs pursue innovative ideas. Addressing the 'final day of the Prarambh startup summit PM Modi expressed confidence that the growth of startups will help in generating jobs and improving the 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," Modi said. With participation from over 25 countries and more than 200 global marquee speakers, the summit is the largest startup confluence organised by the govt since the launch of the Startup India initiative in 2016. The summit marked the fifth anniversary of the Startup India initiative launched by Modi on this day in 2016.

"The government has been implementing the Fund of Fund Scheme to help startups raise equity capital" PM Modi further said. Going forward, the government will also help startups in raising debt capital, he added.

The two-day summit saw a gathering of innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, regulators, industry leaders, and academic luminaries from India and across the world including BIMSTEC countries and also launched the Virtual Startup Showcase.

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. There are over 41,000 startups in the country. He informed that 11 startups entered the unicorn club in 2020 itself.

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PM Modi further said that startups in India are not limited to big cities and about 40 per cent of such budding entrepreneurs are coming from tier-II and tier-III cities. Modi said in 2014 there were only four startups in the unicorn club, but today there are more than 30.

The Summit is built on the foundation set through the 19-point action plan of the Startup India initiative in 2016.

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