StartupFeed Quick Take
- The Nagaland Startup Policy pays one startup up to Rs 5 Lakh as an Innovation Catalyst Grant, and an incubator up to Rs 25 Lakh to set up.
- The state counts 366 startups, 1,200 jobs, Rs 58 Cr in yearly revenue and 5 recognised incubators.
- Two live government pages publish different ceilings for the same seven grants. Check both before you budget.
In This Article
The Nagaland Startup Policy is the state scheme that pays cash grants to startups and to the bodies that incubate them.
The Department of Industries and Commerce runs it. The department’s page counts 366 registered startups, 1,200 people employed and Rs 58 Cr in yearly revenue.
Five incubators are recognised. In January 2026 DPIIT moved Nagaland up to Leader in its States’ Startup Ranking, from Aspiring Leader in the round before.
One problem runs under all of it. The state portal and the national Startup India page publish different ceilings for the same grants.
What the Nagaland Startup Policy Covers in 2026
The Nagaland Start-up Policy 2019 is still the document in force, and no newer startup policy has replaced it.
The policy runs for five years from the date it was announced, or for as long as the state government decides. The Department of Industries and Commerce updated its startup page on September 23, 2026 and still lists the 2019 grants.
Three bodies run it. The Nagaland Innovation Society approves startups, incubators and college centres. A Startup Council chaired by the chief minister signs off the grants.
A separate policy sits beside it. Nagaland announced the Trade, Investment and Industrial Policy 2025 on May 8, 2025, replacing the state industrial policy of 2000.
This matters for money. Section 8 lets a selected startup also claim under the industrial policy in force, once the Nagaland Innovation Society agrees.
Central money flows through the same incubators. Nine startups took Rs 1 Cr under the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme at YouthNet on September 30, 2026.
YouthNet’s director, Nuneseno Chase, put it this way:
“Every startup here carries the hopes of a new Nagaland, one that believes in its potential, invests in homegrown talent, builds locally with pride, and dreams globally with confidence.”
Nuneseno Chase, director and chief functionary, YouthNet. From the YouthNet statement on the Chümoukedima funding ceremony, September 30, 2026.
Who Can Apply as a Startup in Nagaland
Any company, registered partnership firm or LLP registered in Nagaland can apply, if a founder or co-founder is an indigenous inhabitant of Nagaland.
At least 60% of the qualified workforce must come from the local population. Turnover must not have crossed Rs 25 Cr in any earlier financial year.
The age rule is where the paperwork disagrees with itself. The 2019 document says registration must not be older than seven years, ten for biotech.
The department’s own web page says less than ten years, on the same screen. Ask the Nagaland Innovation Society in writing before you build a case on either number.
A family business extension does not qualify. Nor does a firm made by splitting or rebuilding one that already exists.
Women-led startups have their own test. More than 51% of shares must be held by women. Registration must be under ten years old, and women must run the business day to day.
Every Grant, and Why Two Portals Disagree
Seven grants are published twice, under the same policy name, with different ceilings on each page.
The Department of Industries and Commerce hosts one version on the Startup Nagaland portal. The national Startup India page hosts another.
| Grant | Startup Nagaland portal | Startup India page |
|---|---|---|
| State GST paid back | Rs 1.5 Lakh a year, 3 years | Rs 5 Lakh a year, 3 years |
| Seed grant | Up to Rs 1 Lakh at idea stage | Up to Rs 10 Lakh per incubate |
| Computers and software, 50% | Up to Rs 2 Lakh | Up to Rs 5 Lakh |
| Power bill, 50% | Rs 1 Lakh a year, 2 years | Rs 10 Lakh a year, 5 years |
| Patent filing, 100% | Rs 1 Lakh in India | Rs 2 Lakh in India, Rs 5 Lakh overseas |
| Marketing and promotion, 50% | Up to Rs 2 Lakh | Up to Rs 5 Lakh |
| Stamp duty on the first deal | Not listed | 100% paid back |
The version on the state portal carries sections the national page does not list.
An Innovation Catalyst Grant of up to Rs 5 Lakh goes to one startup solving a problem inside the state.
Company registration and DPIIT fees are paid back up to Rs 50,000 in the first year. Half the compliance cost follows for two years, capped at Rs 30,000.
Women-led startups get up to Rs 4 Lakh for digital work and marketing. Ten of them a year can take Rs 1.5 Lakh in milestone-linked seed money.
An EmpowerHer Fund of Rs 10 Lakh a year goes to groups that mentor women founders.
Founders with disabilities have a separate line. The state sets aside Rs 10 Lakh a year for research seed money, Rs 5 Lakh for an event and Rs 5 Lakh for an award.
A quarter of the state’s Fund of Funds is reserved for them.
What Incubators, Colleges and Schools Get
An institution setting up an incubation centre can claim a capital grant of up to Rs 25 Lakh. The money covers equipment and minor repair work only.
The state has set aside Rs 30 Lakh for existing and new incubators. The best performer on the yearly scorecard takes a prize from a Rs 5 Lakh pool.
Per incubate, the two pages disagree again. The state version pays Rs 1 Lakh once the incubate graduates with a working proof of concept. The national page says Rs 2 Lakh.
Mentoring pays Rs 1 Lakh a year. An incubator with women on at least 30% of its mentor panel gets another Rs 1 Lakh a year for two years.
A startup competition is worth Rs 2 Lakh per event. A technical institute acting as a technology partner gets half the prototype cost, capped at Rs 5 Lakh a year.
Schools and colleges have their own line. A government school or college gets up to Rs 10 Lakh to open an Entrepreneurship Development Centre.
A private one is funded on a 50:50 basis. Another Rs 3 Lakh keeps the centre running for two more years.
Sixteen school centres run through YouthNet. Six college centres run through EduCentre.
| Recognised incubator | Works on | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| YouthNet Incubation Centre | Food processing, handicrafts, tourism, farming, logistics | +91 7065344023 |
| Educentre School of Business | Co-working space, mentoring, training | +91 7642920578 |
| Nagabots | STEM teaching, robotics, coding | +91 9366594691 |
| Nagaland Tool Room and Training Centre | Tool and die making, technical courses | +91 8413870785 |
| NIELIT Kohima | IT, cyber security and law, data work | +91 9436215243 |
How to Apply, Step by Step
Applications go online through the Startup Nagaland portal, and the Nagaland Innovation Society screens and selects every startup and incubator.
A startup can claim each grant only once in a financial year. Open competitions, awards and event prizes are the exception.
Money for a founder with a disability moves only through the incubator where that founder is an incubate.
Keep the paperwork tight. Here is what the file needs.
- Company, LLP or registered partnership papers
- Proof that a founder is an indigenous inhabitant of Nagaland
- Staff list showing 60% local hiring
- Turnover figures for every year since registration
- A one-page note on what is new about the product or the business model
- GSTIN, a payment declaration and filed returns, for a GST claim
- Bills and receipts for anything you want paid back
Patent money arrives in two halves. Half lands after the filing, half after the patent is granted.
About the Nagaland Start-up Policy 2019
The Nagaland Start-up Policy 2019 is the state’s startup scheme, run by the Department of Industries and Commerce from Kohima. It pays grants to startups whose founders are indigenous inhabitants of Nagaland, and to the incubators, colleges and schools that train them. The Nagaland Innovation Society picks who gets the money. Applications open on the Startup Nagaland portal.
StartupFeed Insight
Nagaland’s Leader rank rests on work done between January 2023 and November 2024. The grant paperwork has not caught up. Two live government pages publish different ceilings for the same seven grants, and the department’s own page on who can apply contradicts the policy document it links to. A founder in Noklak cannot budget against that. The fix is cheap: one combined document, one set of numbers, one date on it. If it is not out by National Startup Day on January 16, 2027, the Leader rank will be harder to defend than it was to win.
By Dr. Mayank Raj, Contributing Editor
Frequently Asked Questions
Have a tip? Write to us at editorial@startupfeed.in.
Liked this story? Follow StartupFeed on Google so our reporting reaches you first.
