Most Indian founders hear "government scheme" and think paperwork with no payoff. Some of it is. But five central programmes are real, current and worth knowing before you raise a rupee elsewhere. All of them start with one thing: DPIIT recognition. Details below are from official Startup India, PIB and NCGTC pages, checked on 9 October 2026.
1. DPIIT recognition and the 80-IAC tax holiday
This is the key that opens the other doors. Under the revised definition (notified February 2026), you qualify if you are a private limited company, LLP, partnership firm or cooperative society, less than 10 years old, with turnover under Rs 200 crore in any year. Deep tech startups get 20 years and Rs 300 crore. You must be working on innovation or a scalable model, and you cannot be a split-up of an existing business. Recognition alone is not the tax benefit. Private limited companies and LLPs can then apply separately under Section 80-IAC for a tax holiday on 3 consecutive financial years out of the first 10 years.
2. Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS)
Up to Rs 20 lakh as a grant for proof of concept, prototype or trials, and up to Rs 50 lakh through convertible debentures or debt-linked instruments for market entry and scaling. It is paid through selected incubators. You must be DPIIT recognised, incorporated within the last 2 years, use technology in your core product, and have received no more than Rs 10 lakh from other government schemes. Status check: the official Playbook says the last date to apply was 31 May 2026, and disbursals are ongoing. So new applications are closed right now. Watch seedfund.startupindia.gov.in for any reopening.
3. Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS)
Collateral is where most early loans die. CGSS lets a lender extend a loan to a DPIIT-recognised startup with a government-backed guarantee, run by NCGTC. The maximum guarantee is Rs 20 crore or the outstanding amount, whichever is less. Cover is 85% of the default amount for loans up to Rs 10 crore and 75% above that. Member lenders include scheduled commercial banks, RBI-registered NBFCs and SEBI-registered AIFs. You apply through a member lender or the Jan Samarth portal. The bank still decides whether to lend.
4. Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0
Notified on 13 April 2026 with a Rs 10,000 crore corpus. You do not apply to it directly. SIDBI puts money into SEBI-registered venture funds (AIFs), and those funds invest in DPIIT-recognised startups. Priority areas are deep tech, early growth-stage startups backed by smaller funds, and innovative manufacturing. For you, the practical step is to find out which funds are backed by it and pitch them. The scheme's operational guidelines are issued by DPIIT.
5. Scheme for Facilitating Startups Intellectual Property Protection (SIPP)
For DPIIT-recognised startups filing patents, trademarks or designs. IP facilitators handle drafting, filing, examination replies and hearings, and their professional fees are paid by the office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks. You generally pay only the statutory government fees. You must declare that no other government scheme is paying facilitator fees for the same application.
State schemes differ, so check yours
Everything above is central. States run their own programmes with their own amounts and rules. Kerala is one example: the Kerala Startup Mission's Idea Grant offers up to Rs 3 lakh for ideation to prototype stage, and its Productisation Grant offers up to Rs 7 lakh (up to Rs 12 lakh where women hold the major share). Both are for innovators based in Kerala and need KSUM registration. Other states have their own versions, so look at your state startup policy page.
What to do this week
Get DPIIT recognition first. Then decide which of the rest fits your stage: seed grant (watch for reopening), a guaranteed loan, a fund backed by FoF 2.0, or IP support. Schemes change, so confirm amounts and deadlines on the official page before you apply.
Sources
- Startup India, recognition and tax exemption
- PIB, revised startup recognition framework
- Startup India Schemes Playbook, June 2026
- Startup India, CGSS
- NCGTC, CGSS
- PIB, Startup India FoF 2.0
- Kerala Startup Mission, Idea Grant
- Kerala Startup Mission, Productisation Grant
