SAMRIDH Scheme

Prelims: Current events of national and international importance| Economic and Social Development.

Why in news?

Recently Delhi police arrested two persons who exploited the SAMRIDH scheme by making false representations to obtain government funds.

• SAMRIDH - Start-up Accelerator of MeitY for Product Innovation, Development, and Growth.
• Goal - It aims to support IT based start-ups through accelerator to scale for solving India’s problems creating positive social impact.
• A start-up accelerator is a mentor-based program that provides guidance, support and limited funding in exchange for equity.

Incubators focus more on the longevity of a start-up and are less concerned with how quickly the company grows but accelerators focus on rapid growth, have fixed timeframes, and help start-ups attract investment and scale their operations.

• Nodal ministry – Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY)
• Implementing agency – MeitY Start-up Hub (MSH)

As per the research by MIT Sloan, around 50% of the Start-ups fail by 4th year of their inception.

Key Features

• Bridging the funding gap – It address the gap between prototype stage and commercialization.
• Once a Start-up gains traction, there is a gap in accessing the growth stage funding to scale up the operations.
• Funding support and fiscal incentives - Equal matching investment by accelerator/investor up to ₹40 lakh government investment per start-up.
• Support for proven concepts – It provides start-ups which already have brilliant solutions and proof of concept for their product, better facilities to enhance their product using innovative technologies for the market with a solid business plan.
• Accelerator support system – It supports existing and upcoming Accelerators to select and accelerate potential IT based start-ups to scale for solving India's problems creating positive social impact.
• Platform for growth – It provides start-ups with a platform to enhance their products and secure investments for scaling their business.

Reference

1. MeitY| SAMRIDH
2. The Hindustan Times| Two cheat MeitY using SAMRIDH scheme