The government has notified the Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 (FoF 2.0) with a total corpus of ₹10,000 crore to mobilise venture and growth capital for the country’s startup ecosystem, according to a statement by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Monday, 13 April.
The new fund builds on the earlier Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS 1.0), launched in 2016 under the Startup India Action Plan to address funding gaps and catalyse domestic capital.
The ₹10,000 crore corpus will be deployed through commitments to eligible SEBI-registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) across the 16th and 17th Finance Commission cycles.
The fund will contribute to the corpus of SEBI-registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) for investing in entities recognised as startups by the Central Government.
The scheme will prioritise funding for deep tech startups, early growth-stage ventures supported by smaller AIFs, and technology-driven and innovative manufacturing companies, along with sector-agnostic opportunities.
A structured selection process will be followed for AIFs, including screening by a Venture Capital Investment Committee (VCIC) comprising industry veterans.
An Empowered Committee will monitor the implementation and performance of the scheme, alongside provisions for co-investment by the Government and institutional investors under a defined governance framework.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) will issue operational guidelines and details regarding the composition of the VCIC.
The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has been designated as the implementation agency and will operationalise the scheme from the date of notification.
An additional domestic implementation agency will also be selected.
The government stated that the initiative is expected to support innovation-led growth, strengthen manufacturing capabilities, generate high-quality jobs, and enhance India’s position as a global innovation hub.
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