The government announced it is about to set up a Rs 10,000 crore startup fund, which is expected to be funded by the shortfall in priority sector lending of different banks. According to Madhav Lal, secretary in the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises, the basic fund will come from the shortfall in priority sector lending of different banks and this will be credited to the fund for small and medium enterprises. Discussions are going on with the ministry of finance and Sidbi on how this fund should be strcutured and the final shape will be emerging by the month end, he added. The startup fund was announced in this year’s budget and MSME ministry was given the responsibility to work out the contours of the fund. It is expected that SIDBI would be the custodian of the fund and selection of recipients will be done either through a selection committee or by the bank itself.
