125 Startups to Gain Funding and Mentorship Through Potential Accelerator Support

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is actively promoting India's software product industry under the National Policy on Software Products (NPSP) - 2019. Through a range of programs, Indian software startups are supported to scale and innovate. These initiatives include Centre of Excellences, the Technological Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE) program, Next Generation Incubation Scheme (NGIS), ICT Grand Challenges, and Gen-Next Support for Innovative Startups (GENESIS), all aimed at fostering a thriving ecosystem for software entrepreneurs.

About SAMRIDH: Empowering Indian Software Startups

SAMRIDH (Startup Accelerator of MeitY for Product Innovation, Development, and Growth) is a flagship initiative launched in August 2021 under NPSP-2019 to accelerate software product startups. With a budget of ₹99 crore over four years, it aims to support 300 software product startups. Through SAMRIDH, startups receive services such as market fit development, business planning, investor connections, and international expansion opportunities. The programme also offers matching funding of up to ₹40 lakh from MeitY and is managed by the MeitY Startup Hub (MSH), under the Digital India Corporation (DIC).

Diverse Accelerator Network for SAMRIDH

The second cohort of SAMRIDH was launched on 4th September 2024 by Sh. S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY. This cohort is part of the government's 100-day agenda to nurture 125 startups in addition to those already supported. It seeks to meet the target of supporting 300 startups through established accelerators. The second cohort is open for applications from accelerators nationwide. In the first cohort, 22 accelerators from 12 states were selected. These included government-supported organizations, academic institutions, private-sector initiatives, and early-stage funding platforms. The selected accelerators focus on key areas like health-tech, ed-tech, agri-tech, consumer-tech, fin-tech, Software as a Service (SaaS), and sustainability. The SAMRIDH program exemplifies India’s commitment to fostering innovation in the software industry by providing startups with the resources and guidance they need to grow and succeed both domestically and globally.