Rs 3,400 cr disbursed till Dec under Fund of Funds Scheme for start-ups

New Delhi [India], February 3 : Of the committed Rs 7,980 crore to 99 Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) under the Fund of Funds Scheme, Rs 3,400 crore has been disbursed to 72 of them as of December, which has in turn made investments of Rs 14,077 crore in 791 startups, the Parliament was told today.
Through the scheme, it does not directly invest in startups but instead provides capital to SEBI-registered AIFs, known as daughter funds, who in turn invest money in growing Indian startups through equity and equity-linked instruments, Union minister of state for commerce Som Parkash said in a reply to a question in the Parliament on Friday.
It has not only made capital available for startups at the early stage, seed stage and growth stage but also played a catalytic role in facilitating the raising of domestic capital, reducing dependence on foreign capital and encouraging homegrown and new venture capital funds.
Further, on ease of doing business, the minister said over 50 regulatory reforms have been undertaken by the government since 2016 to enhance ease of doing business, ease of raising capital and reduce the compliance burden for the startup ecosystem.