Some select startups operating from the Atal Incubation Centre of the Sri Krishnadevaraya University Confederation (AIC-SKU Confederation) will now be eligible for a financial assistance of up to ₹20 lakh as the SKU-AIC has been selected under the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The AIC-SKU is the first Incubator in Andhra Pradesh to get a fund of ₹5 crore.
Under this scheme, the AIC-SKU Confederation can support innovative startups, turning them around as successful business ventures. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has launched the Start-up India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) with an outlay of ₹945 crore to provide financial assistance to startups for the proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry, and commercialisation.
“The fund will support an estimated 3,600 entrepreneurs through 300 incubators in the next four years. Easy availability of capital is essential for entrepreneurs . Funding from angel investors and venture capital firms becomes available to startups only after the proof of concept is provided. Similarly, banks provide loans only to asset-backed applicants,” said AIC-SKU Director Konduru Nagabhushan Raju.
Referring the eligibility criteria, he said a startup, recognised by the DPIIT, should have been incorporated for no more than two years and must have a business idea to develop a product or a service with a market fit, viable commercialisation, and scope of scaling.
Preference would be given to startups offering innovative solutions in sectors such as social impact, waste management, water management, financial inclusion, education, agriculture, food processing, biotechnology, healthcare, energy, mobility, defence, space, railways, oil and gas, textiles and etc. The startup should not have got more than ₹10 lakh under any other Central or State scheme. Shareholding by Indian promoters in the startup should be at least 51%, he said.
