In a major push to strengthen India’s startup ecosystem, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 with a total corpus of ₹10,000 crore. The new fund aims to mobilise venture capital investment for startups across the country and expand funding access beyond leading metro cities.
The government said the scheme will focus on deep tech, technology driven manufacturing, and early growth startups. It seeks to bridge high risk capital gaps and strengthen the domestic venture capital base, especially by supporting smaller funds. The initiative is aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047 and aims to encourage innovation led enterprises across sectors and regions.
Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 follows the earlier Fund of Funds for Startups 1.0 launched in 2016 under the Startup India initiative. The previous scheme committed its entire ₹10,000 crore corpus to 145 Alternative Investment Funds. These AIFs invested over ₹25,500 crore in more than 1,370 startups across sectors such as agriculture, AI, robotics, automotive, clean tech, consumer services, ecommerce, education, fintech, healthcare, manufacturing, space technology and biotechnology. The government stated that FFS 1.0 helped nurture first time founders, crowd in private capital, and build the foundation of India’s venture capital ecosystem.
According to the government, the new fund will adopt a targeted funding strategy, prioritising sectors that require long term capital and are linked to economic growth and self reliance. Since the launch of Startup India in 2016, recognised startups have increased from fewer than 500 to over 2 lakh, as per the promotion of industry and internal trade department. The government said 2025 recorded the highest annual startup registrations so far. It added that the new fund will help startups build globally competitive technologies and products, generate jobs, and strengthen economic resilience.
Also read: Viksit Workforce for a Viksit Bharat
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