Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)

DPIIT is a department under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, established in 1995 and renamed from DIPP in 2019. It is responsible for the Startup India initiative — India's flagship national startup program launched in 2016 — and has recognized over 1,97,692 startups across the country as of October 2025. DPIIT is the single most important central government body for India's startup ecosystem.

Role in the Startup Ecosystem

DPIIT runs Startup India, which provides the national framework for startup recognition, tax benefits, regulatory simplifications, and funding support. A DPIIT-recognized startup gets access to income tax exemptions under Section 80-IAC, self-certification for labour and environmental laws, fast-tracked patent applications at reduced fees, and eligibility for the Fund of Funds for Startups managed by SIDBI. DPIIT recognition has become the foundational credential for Indian startups — most state-level incentive programs now require or prefer it.

Programs and Initiatives

Key programs include the Startup India Recognition scheme, the Fund of Funds for Startups (₹10,000 crore corpus deployed through 120+ SEBI-registered AIFs), the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (up to ₹50 lakh through eligible incubators), and the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (collateral-free debt up to ₹10 crore). DPIIT also runs the Startup India Hub as a mentorship and resource centre, publishes the annual State Startup Ranking that drives competition among states, and manages the National Startup Awards recognizing innovative startups and ecosystem builders.

Who Benefits

Every Indian startup benefits from DPIIT's ecosystem. Recognition is open to any entity incorporated as a private limited company, partnership firm, or LLP, that is less than 10 years old and has annual turnover below ₹100 crore. The Fund of Funds has catalyzed billions in private venture capital by investing as an anchor LP in domestic VC funds. The Seed Fund Scheme provides critical early capital to startups through a network of approved incubators across India.

Strategic Impact

DPIIT has fundamentally transformed India's startup landscape since launching Startup India in 2016. The growth from a few thousand recognized startups to nearly 2 lakh in under a decade reflects the scale of its impact. By creating a national framework for startup recognition, simplifying regulations, and deploying public capital through structured channels, DPIIT has built the institutional foundation that India's entire startup ecosystem operates upon. The annual State Startup Ranking has also catalyzed a competitive race among state governments to improve their own startup policies.