The Narendra Modi led government in 2016 had deployed a Rupees 10,000 Crore Fund of Funds Scheme( FFS) set up in collaboration with the Small Industrial Development Bank of India (SIDBI), which was deployed during the 14th and 15th economic cycles. The scheme has so far invested Rupees 2,669.83 Crores in 279 startups, according to the information shared by Commerce minister Piyush Goyal in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Instead of investing directly in Startups, the FFS’s are invested as Alternative Investment Fund ( AIF) to the Small Industrial Development Bank of India. While so far Rs 700 Crore has been released so far, SIDBI has committed Rs 3,123.20 Crore to 47 AIFs while Rs 695.94 Crore has been drawn from the FFS.

Under the startup India initiative, a total of 24921 startups have come up as of November 2019, while over 175 Innovation Hunts and programs have been hosted on the Startup India portal by different government departments and large businesses as of November 25, 2019. Startups registered under the startup India initiative have been barred from six labor laws and three environmental laws by the Government of India. Under Section 80-IAC of the Income Tax Act that provides for 100 percent deduction to profits of eligible startups for three consecutive years out of seven years from the year of incorporation.