About Startup Portal

India's largest online entrepreneurship platform allows startups to network, access free tools & resources and participate in programs & challenges.

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Introducing the Startup India Portal
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NETWORK

WITH THE STARTUP ECOSYSTEM

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PARTICIPATE

IN CHALLENGES & PROGRAMS

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ACCESS

USEFUL TOOLS & RESOURCES FOR FREE

Access

Register on the Portal to access valuable online tools & resources for free.

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KNOWLEDGE BANK FOR STARTUPS

Your online guide to starting a business in India, with an overview of key terms, processes, stakeholders, legal requirements and more

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PARTNERED SERVICES

Avail valuable services for free from our partnered providers, including legal help, banking, cloud services and more.

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TEMPLATES FOR EVERY SITUATION

Download from our collection of verified templates for every function, from Legal to HR to Finance to Customer Support.

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ONLINE COURSES

Keep your skills updated with our curated list of entrepreneur-friendly courses on topics ranging from data analytics to design thinking

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INNOVATION CHALLENGES

Participate in corporate & government challenges to get noticed, win cash grants, incubation, mentorship support and more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers here to common questions about the public procurement process.

1 What is Startup India Hub?

Startup India Hub is a one-stop platform for all stakeholders in the Startup ecosystem to interact amongst each other, exchange knowledge and form succesful partnerships in a highly dynamic environment.

2 How do Investors add value to Startups?

Investors particularly venture capitalists (VCs) add value to startups in a lot of ways:

1. Stakeholder Management: Investors manage the company board and leadership to facilitate smooth operations of the startup. In addition, their functional experience and domain knowledge of working and investing with startups imparts vision and direction to the company.

2. Raising Funds: Investors are best guides for the startup to raise subsequent rounds of funding on the basis of stage, maturity, sector focus etc. and aid in networking and connection for the founders to pitch their business to other investors.

3. Recruiting Talent: Sourcing high-quality and best-fit human capital is critical for startups, especially when it comes to recruiting senior executives to manage and drive business goals. VCs, with their extensive network can help bridge the talent gap by recruiting the right set of people at the right time.

4. Marketing: VCs assist with marketing strategy for your product/service.

5. M&A Activity: VCs have their eyes and ears open to merger and acquisition opportunities in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem to enable greater value addition to the business through inorganic growth.

6. Organizational Restructuring: As a young startup matures to an established company, VCs help with the right organizational structuring and introduce processes to increase capital efficiency, lower costs and scale efficiently.

3 Why do Investors invest in Startups?

Investing in startups is a risky proposition, but the low requirement for overhead capital combined with high upside potential, makes it lucrative for investors to put their bets on startups.

The Thomson Reuters Venture Capital Research Index replicated the performance of venture capital industry in 2012 and found that overall venture capital has returned at an annual rate of 20% since 1996 – far outperforming modest returns of 7.5% and 5.9% from public equities and bonds respectively.

4 How can I register a profile on the hub?

Registering a profile on the hub is a fairly simple process.

  • On clicking the “Register” tab on the top right hand corner of the page which you will be directed to our “mygov” platform for authentication where you will be asked to fill details such as your name, email address, etc. This will give you a one time password for verification as well as a link to set a new password.
  • Sign in using the login credentials you created in step 1. This will direct you to the Hub where you can select and create the profile of a stakeholder which best defines your role.
5 How do we connect to enablers after creating a profile?

The system is build to connect you to your relevant stakeholders based on your industry and preferred stage. Under the profile of every enabler there will be an option to “connect/apply”. Upon clicking, a request will be sent to the respective profile for acceptance. Once accepted, you will able to see the enabler as a new connection.

Please note that you can connect with upto 3 users per week.

6 Can a foreign company register under Startup India hub?

Any entity having atleast one registered office in India is welcome to register on the hub as location preferences, for the time being are only created for Indian states. However, we are working on international relations and will soon be able to enable registration for stakeholders from the global ecosystem

1 I have an innovative idea that I want to pursue as a Startup. What guidance can Startup India provide me?

Startup India Learning Program is a free online entrepreneurship program by Startup India. The aim is to help entrepreneurs get their ideas and ventures to the next level through structured learning. The program covers lessons on key areas of starting up by 40+ top founders of India in an extensive 4-Week Program.

Interested individuals can enrol for this free course at https://www.startupindia.gov.in/content/sih/en/learning-and-development_v2.html.

                                                                                                

For more courses, please visit https://www.startupindia.gov.in/content/sih/en/reources/l-d-listing.html.

Further, incubators across India are providing guidance to budding startups. There is a list of incubators listed on the Startup India portal for your reference.

 

2 My entity does not have a PAN. Would I be allowed to register it as a ‘Startup’ on the Startup India portal?

Yes, an entity without a PAN can be registered as a Startup on our website. However, it is advised that a valid PAN of the entity is provided at the time of registration

3 Would a One Person Company (OPC) be eligible to avail benefits under the Startup India initiative?

Yes. One Person Companies are eligible to avail benefits under the Startup India initiative.

 

4 Can a foreigner enter into partnership under the LLP Act and get that LLP registered with Startup India?

Yes, a foreign national can enter into partnership under the LLP Act and get that LLP registered on our website. It can even get recognised by the DIPP.

 

5 Can I provide two mobile numbers in the registration form?

Only one mobile number and one landline number of the authorized representative of the entity can be provided at the time of registration. The portal and the mobile app would be sending an OTP on the mobile number provided by the user to complete the authentication and registration process.

 

6 What are the documents required by Startups to get recognized under the Startup India initiative?

The process of recognition as a ‘Startup’ is through an online application made over the mobile app/portal at https://www.startupindia.gov.in/content/sih/en/startupgov/startup-recognition-page.html.

You will need to upload the incorporation/registration certificate and explain how your startup is working towards innovation, development or improvement of products or processes or services, or its scalability in terms of employment generation or wealth creation.

 

7 What is the time-frame for obtaining certificate of recognition as a ‘Startup’ in case an entity already exists?

The certificate of recognition is issued typically within 2 working days upon successful submission of the application.

 

8 If my startup gets recognised, would I obtain a certificate for it? If yes, would I be able to download the certificate?

Yes, if your startup gets recognised, you would be able to download a system generated verifiable certificate of recognition.

 

 

9 What is the constitution of the Inter-Ministerial Board?

The Inter-Ministerial Board setup by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion validates Startups for granting tax related benefits. The Board comprises of the following members:

 

·         Joint Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Convener

·         Representative of Department of Biotechnology, Member

·         Representative of Department of Science & Technology, Member

 

10 How would the Inter-Ministerial Board review the applications received for the purpose of tax exemption?

The Board shall review the supporting document(s) provided to ascertain if the entity qualifies as an eligible business for availing tax.

 

11 What is the time-frame for obtaining certification of Inter-Ministerial Board for availing tax exemption post successful application?

The Inter- Ministerial Board meeting typical takes place once a month. The cases in the meeting are processed in a serial order. The communication regarding the decision is sent to the registered email address of the Startup. 

To regularly follow updates of the IMB meetings, you may refer to the IMB notifications on our website by clicking here.

 

12 If a startup has applied for DIPP-recognition and the application gets rejected or marked incomplete due to missing documents or insufficient information, should the startup edit the existing application or submit a new one?

If the application for recognition has been marked incomplete, the startup needs to follow the given steps:

 

1)     Log in with their startup credentials on www.startupindia.gov.in 

2)     Select ‘Recognition and Tax Exemption’ button on the right panel 

3)     Select the ‘Edit Application’ button and proceed with completing your application

 

If the application has been marked ‘Incomplete’ thrice, the application is rejected.

 

Rejected applications cannot be edited, and a new application can be submitted after three months from the date of communication of the rejection email.

 

1 How do I register as a Mentor/ Investor on the Hub?

Registering a profile on the Startup India website is a fairly simple process:

 

· Simply click on 'Register' and fill in the details as required in the registration form. An OTP will be sent to your registered email address, post submitting which your profile will get created.

 

· You will have an option to select your profile type. Select “Enabler” as your persona type, post which you’ll be asked to specify what type of enabler you are. Select mentor / investor in the drop down box depending on your objective. The profile goes under moderations for 24-48 hrs, and once our Quality assurance team has done a preliminary check on your mentor creds, your profile is made live

 

2 What is my role as a Mentor on the Hub?

As a Mentor, you have access to all registered startups across all stages on the Hub. The startups may connect with you through a connection request, post which you can provide your expert advice to the startup on its next steps. To know more, kindly go to the Mentor’s Section 

 

3 How do Startups connect with a mentor/ investor?

A startup is allowed to send 3 connection requests each week. This is done by simply clicking on the “connect” button on the mentor’s profile. Once you accept a connection request, the startup can reach out to you through a simple chat interface. You can know more about the Startup which has connected with you by clicking on their profile and reading up about them.

 

4 How do you make sure I don’t get spammed?

While we encourage more engagement on the platform, we can understand that access to high quality mentors investor like yourself can be overwhelming for some Startups, which may lead to them spamming. To ensure Startups are conservative and careful with the mentor/ investor requests, we restrict each Startup to 3 connection requests each week.

 

5 Can I get access to additional resources which can further aid my mentorship support to the Startup?

To aid in your mentoring journey, we have pooled together a vast repository of resources ranging from plug and play templates to Market research reports which can help both mentor and Startup gauge the opportunity at their disposal better. Feel free to navigate through our repository of resources on the top ribbon of the portal. 

6 Do I get any kind of recognition for being an active mentor/ investor on the portal?

To showcase our gratitude towards our mentor’s contribution to India’s startup eco system, depending on the quarterly feedback from our Startups, we share commendation letters. Feel free to flaunt these across your social platforms and don’t forget to tag us!

 

1 What is the procedure to claim reimbursement by patent facilitators to services offered to startups?

After a patent application is received by the Patent Office, the facilitator shall submit the claim for fees as per the fee schedule given in SIPP Scheme. A letter addressed to the Head of Office of the respective Patent Office, giving details of claimed fee for drafting of application and his ID proof as a registered Patent Agent, shall be submitted along with the invoice.

2 What is the procedure to claim reimbursement by Trademark facilitators to services offered to startups?

The facilitator shall submit the claim for payment of fees to the respective Head of Office of the Trade Marks Registry. A letter addressed to the Head of Office of the respective Trade Mark Office, giving details of claimed fee for drafting of application and his ID proof as a registered Trade Mark Agent, shall be submitted along with the invoice.