Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)

DPIIT recognition is a status certificate, not funding. It is the gate for the seed fund, the loan guarantee, the tax exemption, the patent and trademark rebates and the procurement relaxations described on this page. DPIIT issues it directly and has appointed no agents.

What you get

• A DPIIT Certificate of Recognition as a startup
• Eligibility to apply for the benefits that require recognition

Who can apply

• Private limited companies, registered partnership firms, LLPs and cooperative societies
• Entities that meet the startup definition in the government's G.S.R. 108(E) notification
• Up to 10 years from incorporation, or up to 20 years for deeptech
• Not formed by splitting up or reconstructing an existing business
• At least 51 percent shareholding by Indian promoters
• Sole proprietorships and entities incorporated outside India are not eligible
• Annual turnover limits also apply; the portal sets them out

How to apply: Apply yourself on the National Single Window System. Create an account, add the Registration as a Startup application to your dashboard, then fill it in and submit. DPIIT charges no fee for the certificate.

This is a tax benefit for recognised startups, not a grant. Eligible startups can be exempted from paying income tax for three consecutive financial years out of their first ten years since incorporation.

Who can apply

• A DPIIT-recognised startup
• Only private limited companies or LLPs are eligible
• Incorporated after 1 April 2016

How to apply: Get DPIIT recognition first. The Startup India scheme page lists annual accounts for the last three financial years among the documents needed for the exemption application.

SISFS is a DPIIT scheme that supports startups through selected incubators. A startup does not apply to the ministry for the money: it applies to incubators, and the incubator decides. An Experts Advisory Committee constituted by DPIIT is responsible for the scheme's overall execution and monitoring.

The scheme's notice says the startup application window closed on 31 May 2026. Applications submitted by that date continue to be processed by the incubators. Older text on the same site still describes an ongoing call for applications, so treat the closure notice as the current position and watch for a new one.

What you get

• Seed support for validating a proof of concept, building a prototype or running product trials
• Further support for market entry, commercialisation or scaling, through convertible debentures or debt-type instruments

Who can apply

• A DPIIT-recognised startup incorporated not more than two years before applying
• At least 51 percent shareholding by Indian promoters at the time of applying
• Individual entrepreneurs are not eligible
• Incubators apply separately and need at least five startups physically undergoing incubation on the date of application; their call is described as open throughout the year

How selection works: The incubator that receives your application processes it under the scheme's timelines.

How to apply: A startup applies to incubators through the scheme's portal, to up to three incubators at the same time. The startup window is currently closed.

CGSS does not give guarantee cover to startups directly. A trustee, NCGTC, gives guarantee cover to member lending institutions that lend to recognised startups. It is a loan guarantee, not a grant.

Who can apply

• A startup recognised by DPIIT
• Not in default to any lending or investing institution
• Not classified as a non-performing asset under RBI guidelines

How to apply: Complete the online application on the Jan Samarth portal, or approach the nearest branch of a member institution and ask about its process. The lender decides on the loan.

The Fund of Funds for Startups contributes to the corpus of SEBI-registered alternative investment funds, which invest in equity and equity-linked instruments of recognised startups. A second scheme, Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0, has been established by Gazette notification, and the operational guidelines are to be issued by DPIIT. We have not seen those guidelines.

As reported by SIDBI, which implements the first fund of funds, 153 funds and 1,270 startups had been supported as on 31 March 2026.

Who can apply

• Fund managers only: Category I or II alternative investment funds registered with SEBI, or that have applied for registration
• A fund must agree to invest at least twice the contribution it seeks from the scheme into startups
• Founders have no application route to the fund; they benefit by raising from a supported fund

How to apply: Funds apply online through SIDBI's page for the scheme.

SIPP is meant to help innovative startups protect patents, trademarks and designs in India and outside. It is a benefit for recognised startups, not a grant.

What you get

• An 80 percent rebate on patent filing compared with other companies
• A 50 percent rebate on the trademark filing fee, under the amended Trademark Rules, 2017
• Facilitators you can contact for the filing process

Who can apply

• A DPIIT-recognised startup

The scheme page shows 12,997 patents and 49,727 trademarks filed by startups as of 31 December 2024, as reported by the portal.

How to apply: Contact an appropriate patent or trademark facilitator from the lists on the Startup India portal. Choose by your sector and the facilitator's jurisdiction, and ask them for the current process and documents.

Recognised startups can self-certify compliance with six labour laws and three environmental laws through a simple online procedure. For the labour laws, no inspections are conducted for five years.

How to apply: Register on the Shram Suvidha Portal of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, then log in and follow the link for startups.

DPIIT-recognised startups can register on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) as sellers and sell their products and services directly to government entities. They have also been exempted from submitting an earnest money deposit or bid security when filling government tenders.

Who can apply

• Startups recognised by DPIIT

How to apply: Register as a seller on GeM.

The Bharat Startup Grand Challenge was launched on National Startup Day, 16 January 2025, to connect startups with real-world problems faced by industry and society. DPIIT does not run the individual challenges, set their incentives or choose winners. Each is hosted by an outside company, institution or association that enters its own details, so eligibility, incentives and dates differ from one challenge to the next.

When we checked on 7 October 2026 the portal listed no open challenge and showed 64 challenges as concluded. Check the portal for the next one.

Who can apply

• Startups able to offer a solution to a host's problem statement; set by each host
• Many challenges require DPIIT recognition. The Tally Solutions challenge, for example, says all startups applying must be registered with DPIIT

How to apply: Browse the ongoing challenges on the Startup India portal and submit through the application process for the challenge you choose. There is no participation fee. Queries go to suiindustry@investindia.org.in.

The National Startup Awards recognise and reward startups and ecosystem enablers building innovative products or solutions and scalable enterprises. Winners receive a cash prize.

The latest cycle shown on the portal is the fifth, which covered 20 categories and drew 3,163 startup applications. The awards page still carries an apply banner dated 2022, and we found no currently open call.

How to apply: Apply through the awards portal when a cycle is open. Queries go to startup.support@investindia.org.in.

MAARG stands for Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience and Growth. It is a single national platform for startups and mentors, aimed at matching mentors and startups across sectors, functions, stages and geographies at scale.

How to apply: Register on the MAARG site.

Investor Connect was launched at the sixth meeting of the National Startup Advisory Council on 11 March 2023. It connects startups with investors to help investment opportunities along. The portal states that it does not take part in buying, selling or settling securities.

When we checked on 7 October 2026 the site's security certificate had expired, so your browser may show a warning before it loads.

How to apply: Register on the Investor Connect site.

BHASKAR is a single digital platform where startup ecosystem members connect, share knowledge and search for each other. A startup founder profile is for an individual above the age of 18 who is doing business work towards innovation or scalability of an idea.

How to apply: Register on the Startup India portal's BHASKAR page.

TEJAS (Transforming Entrepreneurial Journeys Across States & Districts) is an initiative of Startup India and DPIIT that aims to strengthen startup ecosystems across 132 districts by encouraging grassroots innovation and entrepreneurship. Its focus is on youth, women, students, first-time founders and aspiring entrepreneurs.

The portal does not describe a formal application. Queries go to tejas@investindia.org.in.