Startup India Schemes: Every Central Scheme for Startups, and Which One Fits Your Stage

Ask a founder which government schemes they qualify for and you usually get one of two answers: “the seed fund, probably” or a shrug. That is not for lack of options. DPIIT's own June 2026 playbook runs to 107 pages and covers more than 65 central schemes — and most founders qualify for fewer than five of them, because each is built for a particular stage, sector or kind of money.

This guide sorts them the way you would actually search: by what you need, where you are, and what you build. Every figure comes from the playbook. The full document is available further down this page.

The short version, on video

If you would rather watch than read, here is the quick explainer we posted on Instagram.

Watch the full video on Instagram →

Six kinds of support, and what each one costs you

The playbook sorts every scheme into one of six categories. Decide which you want before you look at names. A grant, an equity cheque and a credit guarantee are not interchangeable, even when the headline amount is the same.

Four schemes most founders should know first

Sector-agnostic, and between them they cover the four things an early startup runs out of: seed money, prototype money, credit, and protection for what it builds.

Seed money · DPIIT

Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS)

What you get

Up to ₹20 lakh as a grant for proof of concept, prototype or product trials, and up to ₹50 lakh as convertible debentures or debt for market entry and scale-up.

Who qualifies

DPIIT-recognised startups incorporated no more than 2 years ago, using technology in the core product, service or business model.

The catch

You are out if you have already received more than ₹10 lakh of monetary support under any other central or state scheme. The playbook records the last date for startup applications as 31 May 2026; disbursals through incubators continue.

How to apply

seedfund.startupindia.gov.in — money is disbursed through approved incubators, each running its own selection. Official page

Idea to prototype · DST, DBT

Prototype grants: NIDHI PRAYAS 2.0 and BIRAC BIG

What you get

PRAYAS 2.0 gives up to ₹20 lakh per innovator through PRAYAS Centres and up to ₹40 lakh through Advance PRAYAS Centres for deep tech. BIG gives biotech founders up to ₹50 lakh over 18 months.

Who qualifies

PRAYAS: individual innovators, or DPIIT-recognised startups under 5 years old with turnover never above ₹1 crore. BIG: individuals and startups incubated in any incubator.

The catch

Both are call-based. BIRAC opens BIG at least twice a year, typically 1 January and 1 July, for 30–45 days. Miss the window and you wait for the next one.

How to apply

nidhi-prayas.org for PRAYAS; birac.nic.in for BIG. Official page

Collateral-free debt · DPIIT / NCGTC

Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS)

What you get

A government guarantee of up to ₹20 crore per borrower (or the outstanding credit, whichever is less), so a bank, NBFC or AIF can lend to you without collateral.

Who qualifies

DPIIT-recognised startups borrowing from a member institution — scheduled banks, RBI-registered NBFCs, or SEBI-registered AIFs.

The catch

It is not money. It changes what a lender will accept; the lender still underwrites you, and you still repay the loan.

How to apply

Through a member lender, or the Jan Samarth portal's startup loan route. Official page

Patents & trademarks · DPIIT / CGPDTM

Startups Intellectual Property Protection (SIPP)

What you get

The government pays your IP facilitator's professional fee end to end — drafting, filing, examination responses, hearings. The summary table lists an 80% rebate on patent statutory fees and 50% on trademark and design fees.

Who qualifies

DPIIT-recognised startups filing patents, trademarks or designs.

The catch

You must self-declare that no other government scheme has paid the agent's fee for the same application. You still bear the (rebated) statutory fee.

How to apply

Pick a listed facilitator on the IP India SIPP page. Official page

All 30 startup-specific schemes, at a glance

Part A of the playbook: the schemes where startups are the primary or sole named beneficiary. Amounts are the published ceilings, not what a typical applicant receives.

Source: DPIIT, Playbook of Government Schemes and Initiatives for Startups, June 2026, Section 2 Part A and the scheme one-pagers. Where the summary table and one-pager differ, we use the one-pager.

If you build in a specific sector

Sector schemes are where the larger cheques are, because the ministry funding them has a problem it needs solved. If your sector is below, start here rather than with the general schemes.

Loans without collateral: the three routes

None of these is a government loan. Each is a government promise to a lender, so you apply at a bank, NBFC or fund, and they still decide whether to lend.

Five mistakes that cost founders a scheme

Few rejections are about the idea. Most are about applying to the wrong door, at the wrong time, from the wrong structure.

1. 1

   Applying to a fund of funds directly

   FFS, FoF 2.0, AcE and the Self-Reliant India Fund give money to SEBI-registered venture funds, not to startups. You pitch the funds they back. SIDBI's portal is for fund managers.

2. 2

   Spending your grant headroom early

   SISFS excludes startups that already took more than ₹10 lakh of government monetary support; the IN-SPACe Seed Fund draws the line at ₹50 lakh. A small grant taken first can close a larger door later.

3. 3

   Skipping the incubator

   BIG requires you to be incubated. NIDHI-SSP needs three months' residency in a STEP or TBI. TDF wants startups incubated at a government-assisted incubator. GREAT routes through approved incubators. Without one, you are not in the queue.

4. 4

   Missing the window

   BIRAC runs BIG from about 1 January and 1 July, and BIPP, SBIRI and PACE from 1 April to 15 May and 1 September to 15 October. Most calls are open for weeks, not months.

5. 5

   Ownership that does not qualify

   NIDHI-SSP, DCIS and GREAT want at least 51% Indian ownership; TDF wants 50%. A cap table with a large foreign holder fails these before anyone reads the proposal.

Frequently asked questions