The Startup India Seed Fund is a government scheme that puts early money into startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialisation. The money does not come direct: it is routed through incubators approved to disburse it, and Villgro is one of them.
Two instruments sit behind one application. A startup can receive up to ₹20 lakh as a grant, and up to ₹50 lakh as a convertible note.
The scheme is open to any DPIIT-recognised startup that meets the eligibility bar, so the sector is not fixed. Villgro states a preference for five areas: waste management, water management, climate-smart agriculture, healthcare and climate action. Applications are filed on the government seed fund portal, where a startup names the incubators it wants to be considered by; Villgro also runs its own incubation application form.
Benefits & funding
- Up to ₹20 lakh (INR 2 million) as a grant, for validating proof of concept, prototype development or product trials.
- Up to ₹50 lakh (INR 5 million) as a convertible note, for market entry, commercialisation and scaling up.
- The funding is a government scheme routed through the incubator, so it is a national programme rather than a Villgro fund.
- No cohort size, programme length, disbursal schedule or additional cash support is published on the programme page.
Eligibility
- The applicant is a startup, not an individual. Founders apply on behalf of the company.
- The startup must be recognised by DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade), the Indian government body that certifies startups.
- It must be less than two years old.
- It must not have received more than ₹10 lakh of monetary support from any other central or state government scheme.
- The business idea must be viable, with market fit and the potential to scale.
- Technology has to sit in the core product or service, the business model, or the distribution model.
- Indian promoters must hold at least 51% of the startup.
- Villgro gives preference to waste management, water management, climate-smart agriculture, healthcare and climate action. This is a preference, not a bar.
- No age, gender, degree or personal nationality requirement is stated. The gates sit on the company: Indian incorporation, DPIIT recognition and the 51% Indian-promoter threshold. A founder of any nationality can be on the cap table as long as the company clears those lines.
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Application process
- 1Get DPIIT recognition in place and check the company against the two-year incorporation limit, the ₹10 lakh prior-government-support cap and the 51% Indian-promoter threshold.
- 2Apply on the government seed fund portal at seedfund.startupindia.gov.in, naming the incubators you want to be assessed by, and include Villgro among them. The portal holds the live application window.
- 3Separately, Villgro takes incubation applications through its own form at vitals.villgroapps.org, which asks for country of operation, whether the enterprise is based in India, for-profit or non-profit registration, sector and sub-sector, and which population the venture serves.
- 4The incubator assesses shortlisted startups. Villgro publishes no selection stages, interview format or decision dates for this route.
Program timeline
2025
Villgro lists the Startup India Seed Fund route as running, from 2025 onward.
Applications open
Villgro’s programme hub marks the call open and publishes no closing date. The government seed fund portal is where the current window is stated, so check it before preparing an application.
Not published
selection stages, decision dates, cohort size, disbursal schedule.