New Delhi, Sep 5 (IANS) The IT Ministry on Thursday announced the second cohort of its Startup Accelerator, which will provide funding support and mentorship to 125 early-stage startups selected and supported through the potential accelerator.
The last date for submission of applications under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s Startup Accelerator for Product Innovation, Development and Growth (SAMRIDH) is October 2.
In the first cohort, 22 proposals from 12 states were selected through an open call. These accelerators then selected 5-10 startups each in the sectors of health-tech, ed-tech, agri-tech, consumer-tech, financial-tech, software as a service (SaaS) and sustainability through a multi-level screening process.
The second cohort is part of the government’s 100-day agenda, under which 125 startups will be selected and supported through potential accelerators to achieve the target of developing 300 startups.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said it is working towards the development of India’s software product industry under the National Software Product Policy (NPSP)-2019.
Launched in August 2021, the SAMRIDH programme aims to support 300 software product startups with Rs 99 crore over 4 years.
The scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Start-up Hub and Digital India Corporation.
“The SAMRIDH programme is being implemented through potential and established accelerators across India, providing services such as product market orientation, business planning, investor outreach and international expansion for startups, along with matching funding of up to Rs 40 lakh by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology,” the government said.
According to the ministry, the domestic software product industry, including startups, is being supported through various programmes such as Centres of Excellence, Technological Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE) programme, Next Generation Incubation Scheme (NGIS), ICT Grand Challenges, Gen-Next.
–IANS
AKS/GKT
