DPIIT Releases Operational Guidelines for ₹10,000 Crore Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0
DPIIT has notified detailed operational guidelines for the ₹10,000 crore Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0, with SIDBI as implementing agency and a four-bucket AIF framework covering deep-tech, manufacturing, micro VC and sector-agnostic funds.
On 25 April 2026, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) — under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry — issued the operational guidelines for the Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 (FoF 2.0), with a corpus of ₹10,000 crore. The guidelines lay down a structured framework for fund deployment, governance and monitoring, and aim to improve the efficiency with which capital reaches DPIIT-recognised startups.
Under the scheme, FoF 2.0 will not invest directly in startups. Instead, it will commit capital to SEBI-registered Category I and Category II Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), which in turn will invest in eligible startups. The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has been named the initial Implementation Agency, responsible for AIF selection, due diligence and ongoing monitoring.
The guidelines segment AIFs into four buckets: deep-tech focused funds, micro venture-capital funds for very early-stage startups, funds targeting innovation-driven manufacturing, and sector-agnostic funds. Each bucket carries a different minimum investment multiplier — for example, deep-tech AIFs must invest 1.5 times the FoF commitment, manufacturing-focused funds 1.75 times, micro VC funds 2 times and sector-agnostic funds at least 2.5 times the central commitment.
Selection happens in two stages: SIDBI conducts initial screening and due diligence, after which a Venture Capital Investment Committee carries out a detailed evaluation. The framework is intended to fix funding gaps that the original Fund of Funds for Startups had highlighted — particularly in deep-tech, climate-tech and very early seed-stage businesses outside the Bengaluru–NCR–Mumbai cluster.
Exam angle: FoF 2.0 builds on the original Fund of Funds for Startups announced in 2016. Candidates should remember the corpus (₹10,000 crore), the implementing agency (SIDBI), and the role of SEBI-registered AIFs as the funding channel. Useful for UPSC GS-III, RBI Grade B and SEBI Grade A.
Key Points to Remember
- ₹10,000 crore Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 (FoF 2.0) — guidelines issued 25 April 2026
- Implementing agency: Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)
- Capital flows through SEBI-registered Category I & II AIFs to DPIIT-recognised startups
- Four AIF buckets: deep-tech, micro VC, innovation-driven manufacturing, sector-agnostic
- Minimum investment multipliers: 1.5x (deep-tech), 1.75x (manufacturing), 2x (micro VC), 2.5x (sector-agnostic)
- Two-stage selection: SIDBI screening + Venture Capital Investment Committee evaluation
Exam Relevance
Schemes, startup ecosystem, financial regulation — relevant for UPSC, SEBI Grade A, RBI Grade B and SSC.
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