Which of the following regulatory body is responsible for operationalizing the scheme of Fund of Funds for Startups?

Solution

Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), launched under Startup India initiative in 2016 has committed Rs. 7,385 crore to 88 Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs). These AIFs in turn have invested Rs. 11,206 crore in 720 startups. FFS has been playing a monumental role in mobilizing domestic capital in Indian startup ecosystem. FFS has announced with a corpus of Rs. 10,000 crore. The corpus is to be built up over 14th and 15th Finance Commission Cycles (FY 2016-2020 and FY 2021-2025) through budgetary support by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India. Under FFS, support is extended to SEBI registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), which in turn invest in startups. FFS has not only made capital available for startups at early stage, seed stage and growth stage but also played a catalytic role in terms of facilitating raising of domestic capital, reducing dependence on foreign capital and encouraging home grown and new venture capital funds. Collectively, the AIFs supported by FFS have a target corpus of over Rs. 48,000 crore.