India is thriving ahead in the business field with emergence of the new entrepreneurship era. There is an origin of new startups driven with innovation and growth in possibly all the sectors, be it fintech, food delivery, travel, ride hailing or any other, that is AI driven. In 2023, there were only two startups who could achieve the unicorn status – Zepto and Incred finance. The number significantly increased to six startups in 2024 with Moneyview and Perfios (fintech), Ather Energy (EV), Rapido (the bike taxi aggregator), Rategain (traveltech) and Krutrim (AI driven) being notified the unicorn status. 

To support the various new businesses, the Government of India has launched a number of schemes, through which the young entrepreneurs can avail benefits. With these, the GOI can transform the individuals into job creators and establish a startup ecosystem. Here is a list of these schemes that you can apply for-

Startup India

The Startup India, a flagship initiative began in 2016 where the programs are managed by the Startup India team that reports to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal trade (DPIIT). It aims to build a healthy ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship. It has launched BHASKAR (Bharat Startup Knowledge Access Registry), where the stakeholders from the startup ecosystem can easily connect and collaborate. The key features of this initiative are:

An infrastructure with incubation centers

Easy IPR assistance (easy patent filing)

Tax benefits where the tech startups will be able to operate freely, with zero tax for 3 years

Increased funding opportunities

The Startup India portal that serves as a database, platform and a network offering resources and other opportunities

For eligibility and details, visit the Startup India portal.

Standup India

The Standup India scheme is an initiative of the Ministry of Finance. It finances SC/ST women or the women entrepreneurs start a business by providing them loans. Under the scheme, greenfield enterprise can be set up in manufacturing, trading, services and activities related to agriculture. For this, loans between 10 lakhs to 1 crore will be given to SC/ST and women founders.

A male has to be SC/ST to become a beneficiary of the scheme. There are hand holding agencies that help in establishing network to have expertise. By April 2023, there were 1.80 lakh beneficiaries under the scheme. The scheme will continue till this year for job creation and empowerment of the marginalized sections.

You can visit- https://www.standupmitra.in/Login/Register for more details.

Atal Innovation mission (AIM)

The AIM is also a flagship initiative of the Government of India to promote and establish innovation and entrepreneurship in the culture. It provides a platform for collaboration and other opportunities for the young entrepreneurs. That means an innovator who develops the next big thing will be funded by the government. AIM has created-

Atal tinkering labs (ATL) in schools and Atal incubation centers (AIC) in universities, institutes and corporates. There are also 14 Atal community innovation centers in the country. About 3500 startups have been assisted under the mission, out of which nearly a thousand are women led. The government has approved the continuation of AIM till March 2028.

For further information, visit https://aim.gov.in

Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana

Under PM Yuva (Yuva Udyamita Vikas Abhiyan), the government fosters skill development, training and entrepreneurship education to the new generation. It is implemented by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. The youth can network with peers, mentors, and the business services. E-hubs have been established to support the Entrepreneurship development programmes (nearly 3,050 institutions).

The Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) help the entrepreneurs have an access and introduction to the market. Also, there has been a cultural shift in India for the aspiring entrepreneurs.

Make in India

The Make in India aims to support startups and businesses that focus on manufacturing and innovation. For these, incentives have also been provided by GOI. The scheme was announced in 2014 by PM Narendra Modi. With it, the Government can help the companies in manufacturing and assembling the products in India only. This helped in developing a modern infrastructure along with generating investments and foreign capital. A major factor being, the ease of doing business. It focusses on 25 sectors of the economy including automobiles, aviation, biotechnology, defense manufacturing among others. Some of the key initiatives under Make in India are-

PM Gati Shakti

Startup India

Unified Payments Interface (UPI)

National Industrial Corridor

Production linked incentive(PLI) schemes

Make in India completed 10 years in 2024. It’s second phase ‘Make in India 2.0’ focusses on 27 sectors. Further encouraging the vocal for local campaign.

CGTMSE

It stands for Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for micro and small enterprises. The CGTMSE is a joint setup by Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), GOI and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). It empowers the micro and small enterprises (MSE) by facilitating credit flow and ensuring the availability of finance with the Credit guarantee scheme (CGS). Under the CGTMSE, the government sanctioned guarantees worth 1 lakh crore in the financial year 2022-23.

The PM Vishwakarma scheme for the artisans and craftsmen is also covered under the CGTMSE. For more details regarding the CGTMSE and its structure, reach out to- https://www.cgtmse.in

Apart from these key schemes, the other schemes for entrepreneurs include:

The Women Entrepreneurship platform (WEP) launched by the Niti Aayog

The Digital Innovation square by the Ministry of Communications (Dept. of telecommunications)

For the northeast India, separate schemes have been launched-

North East Entrepreneurs Development (NEED)

Working capital term loan (WCTL)

North East Handloom Handicrafts (NEHH)

Working capital term loan (WCTL) for contract finance

Schemes of Central Bank of India-

Cent Kalyani scheme for women entrepreneurship

Cent Standup India that majorly covers the manufacturing sector

Women Entrepreneurship cell

To know about various other central government schemes facilitated by each particular ministry and department, visit-https://www.startupindia.gov.in/content/sih/en/government-schemes.html

You can easily approach and find financial, infrastructural and regulatory support from the site knowing your eligibility and other details. Let's make India a nation of job creators who lead the way from the front.