The Ministry of Commerce & Industry said on April 25, 2026 that the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade issued operational guidelines for the ₹10,000 crore Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0. The framework turns the corpus into disciplined commitments, governance and monitoring so capital reaches recognised startups. The scheme will not invest directly in firms. It will route commitments through SEBI-registered Category I and II Alternative Investment Funds, which will then invest in department-recognised startups across sectors, stages and geographies.
SIDBI will be the initial implementation agency and run fund selection and monitoring. The department will also onboard another implementation agency to widen reach, add sector expertise and strengthen institutional capacity. The guidelines create segments for deep technology funds, micro venture capital funds for early-growth startups, innovative and technology-led manufacturing funds, and sector- or stage-agnostic funds. Each segment has parameters for corpus thresholds, government contribution limits, tenure and minimum private capital mobilisation.
A two-stage selection system has been prescribed. The implementation agency will conduct screening and due diligence, after which a Venture Capital Investment Committee will evaluate proposals on team record, fund management capacity and strategy. The committee includes Vallabh Bhansali, Dr. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Dr. Renu Swarup, Dr. Chintan Vaishnav and Rajesh Gopinathan, with agency representatives. The fund is designed as a catalytic instrument: it must crowd in private investment, permit co-investments by ministries or institutions in priority sectors, and use part of returns for mentorship, shared infrastructure and ecosystem development.