MeitY to fund 300 early-stage startups through new programme

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Wednesday announced the launch of the Startup Accelerator for Product Innovation, Development & Growth (SAMRIDH) programme, which aims to accelerate the growth of startups in India.

The government has invited existing startup accelerators to partner with the government and will provide funding of up to Rs. 40 lakh. The scheme claims to fund 300 early-stage startups that are close to the product development stage over a period of time. 

Only accelerators that have been in the incubation business for at least three years and supported more than 50 startups, with at least 10 having non-public business will be able to apply for the scheme. They must also have operations in India and the necessary space and infrastructure to be eligible.

SAMRIDH was announced in the annual report of the MeitY earlier this year and was under approval at the time. 

“The part when an idea is being converted into a product, and the product is being scaled, is the most vulnerable part (of a startup). As we all know more than 50% of startups are not able to cross this bridge due to various reasons,” said Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology.

The Minister added that the government wants to scale up the networks of incubators and startups to 10x, 20x and more. 

This isn’t the first time the government has partnered with startup accelerators. On August 7, the MeitY Startup Hub joined hands with India Accelerator under a program called SOMA, which aims to promote deep tech startups in the country. MeitY Startup Hub is another programme under the MeitY that aims to promote startups in the country.