SAMRIDH Govt Scheme for Startups

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Electronics and Information Technology Minister Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw  on Wednesday launched “Start-up Accelerators of MeitY for pRoduct Innovation, Development and growtH (SAMRIDH)” programme to create a conducive platform for Indian software product star-ups to help them scale up their businesses.  

Under this, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will support 300 startups, where it will provide seed funding, mentorship, and market access to create 100 unicorns out of the selected startups.

The programme, implemented by MeitY Startup Hub (MSH), aims to create a conducive platform for software product startups to enhance their products, securing investments for scaling their business.

SAMRIDH will create a conducive platform for Indian software product startups to enhance their products and secure investments for scaling their business. The programme is being implemented by MeitY Start-up Hub (MSH).

Government will support startups and entrepreneurs in the most challenging phase which is the initial risk phase, Vaishnaw had said earlier.

The SAMRIDH initiative will not only provide funding support to startups, but will also help in bringing skill sets together which will help them become successful, Vaishnaw said Wednesday.

The Minister further said technology can play a crucial role in accelerating and in taking the quantum jump in reaching out to marginalized sections of the society which would have taken many years. “Using the energy of startups these areas can be reached within months. Employment in traditional as well as new age industries is a stated mission of our government and is also the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Initiatives and schemes like SAMRIDH will help accelerate the implementation of that vision,” he added. 

Technology can play a role in accelerating and in taking the quantum jump in reaching out to people which would have taken many years. Using the energy of startups these areas can be reached within months, the minister said.

Speaking at the launch event, MeitY Secretary Ajay Prakash Sawhney said the SAMRIDH scheme will pick up startups that are ready for acceleration stage and will provide them with funding support, mentorship and a lot of other support that is required by startups at this stage.

The SAMRIDH programme will focus on accelerating the 300 start-ups by providing customer connect, investor connect, and international immersion in next three years. Also, an investment of up to ₹40 lakh to the start-up based on current valuation and growth stage of the start-Up will be provided through selected accelerators. It will also facilitate equal matching investment by the accelerator / investor. The programme aims to further the Indian start-up growth which has seen the emergence of 63 unicorns with a total valuation of $168 billion. 

Speaking on the occasion, Vaishnaw said that the initiative will not only provide funding support to the startups but will also help in bringing skill sets together which will help them to become successful. Reiterating the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that startups have become new types of wealth creators, Vaishnaw stated that technology and energy of youngsters is a great potential source of energy for inclusive development. 

Speaking at launch event, MeitY secretary Ajay Prakash Sawhney said that SAMRIDH scheme will pick up startups that are ready for acceleration stage and will provide them with funding support, mentorship and a lot of other support that is required by startups at this stage. “The scheme heralds a very important milestone in our journey towards building confidence in our startup community,” he added.