Published: [24 September 2026]
The Madhya Pradesh Startup Policy 2025 is the state’s five-year plan to fund, house and mentor new startups, from first idea to scaled business.
StartupFeed Quick Take
- Rs 100 crore state capital fund backs a target of 10,000 DPIIT startups.
- Seed grant up to Rs 30 lakh, plus 15% investment assistance capped at Rs 60 lakh over a startup’s life.
- Women, SC and ST founders get 18% investment assistance, up to Rs 18 lakh each time.
In This Article
Madhya Pradesh announced the Madhya Pradesh Startup Policy and Implementation Scheme 2025 on February 24, 2025. It replaces the state’s 2022 policy. The Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises runs it from Bhopal.
The state already has over 5,000 startups. Of these, 47% are led by women.
The policy sets one clear target. It wants to raise the number of DPIIT-recognised startups in Madhya Pradesh to 10,000. To pay for that push, the state has set up a startup capital fund of Rs 100 crore.
That Rs 100 crore fund is the biggest single number in the policy. It is not a grant you apply for directly.
The state will give up to Rs 50 crore to empanelled Alternative Investment Funds, or AIFs. Those AIFs then invest Rs 100 crore into DPIIT-recognised startups based in the state.
Raghvendra Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary at the Department of Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion, set out the aim in the policy document.
“The policy takes a startup-centric approach aligning with ecosystem needs. It provides comprehensive assistance to startups from the ideation to the implementation stage.”
Raghvendra Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion, Madhya Pradesh. From the Madhya Pradesh Startup Policy and Implementation Scheme 2025 document, February 2025.
The rest of the money reaches founders as direct grants and reimbursements. This guide breaks down each one, who can apply, and how the money moves in 2026.
What Financial Help Do Startups Get?
Every founder in Madhya Pradesh should read the seed grant rules first. The state gives a seed grant of up to Rs 30 lakh to selected startups.
The money does not come from a government office. It is paid through empanelled incubators, which assess and monitor each startup.
The seed grant covers running costs, not buildings. You can spend it on manpower, professional services, consumables, product testing, market research and scaling up.
You cannot use it for construction, land, property or fixed capital. That rule keeps the grant tied to product work, not property.
Investment assistance rewards founders who raise outside money. If your startup takes funding from a bank, a financial institution or a SEBI or RBI recognised fund, the state adds 15% of that amount.
The cap is Rs 15 lakh each time. You can claim it up to four times, so the lifetime cap is Rs 60 lakh.
Women, SC and ST founders get a bigger share. For them the rate rises to 18% of the amount raised, capped at Rs 18 lakh per instance.
One condition applies across the board. The loan must run for at least one year to qualify.
Two more grants cut a founder’s monthly costs. Lease rental assistance pays 50% of workspace rent, up to Rs 5,000 a month, for three years. Patent assistance reimburses up to Rs 5 lakh for a startup that wins a patent in the state.
Who Can Apply for the Madhya Pradesh Startup Policy 2025?
The rules decide who gets the money, so read them before you apply. To claim any of this, a startup needs two documents.
It must hold a DPIIT recognition certificate from the central Startup India scheme. It must also have a GST registration based in Madhya Pradesh.
Without both documents, the state grants stay shut, even for a startup run from within the state. The two-document rule is the single most common reason an application fails.
The DPIIT rule matters because these state grants sit on top of central benefits. India had close to 2.23 lakh DPIIT-recognised startups by March 31, 2026. A Madhya Pradesh founder keeps every national benefit and adds the state layer on top of it.
The policy favours certain sectors, listed in its priority sector appendix. They include farming technology, information technology, tourism, renewable energy, health technology and handicrafts. A startup in one of these sectors fits the policy’s focus and its incubator network.
The Entrepreneurs in Residence Safety Net
The Entrepreneurs in Residence scheme, called EIR, pays a young innovator before a startup even exists. It offers Rs 10,000 a month for 12 months.
The idea is simple. It gives a student or first-time founder some income during the ideation phase, when there is no product and no revenue.
This is the part of the policy that most sets it apart from the 2022 version. It cushions a founder against capital risk at the point where most ideas die.
Chaitanya Kumar Kashyap, the state MSME minister, called this ideation-to-growth support the plan’s core idea in his message dated February 22, 2025.
The safety net is deliberate. Most state schemes pay a startup only after it exists and has raised money. EIR pays the person first, at the idea stage, and asks for no equity in return.
What Do Incubators Get?
The policy funds incubators, not just startups, because incubators house the early work. An incubator can get a one-time capital grant of 50% of its fixed cost, up to Rs 1 crore, to set up. That grant excludes land and building.
Two special grants go wider. A Technology Business Incubator backed by the central government can get a top-up of up to Rs 50 lakh.
A Livelihood Business Incubator in a tribal district of Madhya Pradesh can get up to Rs 100 lakh. Here the state covers the full project cost.
Running an incubator earns money too. The state pays Rs 5 lakh per startup event, capped at Rs 20 lakh a year. It also pays Rs 5 lakh to an incubator for each investment it helps a startup raise.
Upgrades are funded as well. The state pays a one-time Rs 5 lakh to upgrade an incubator. The catch is that the incubator must add 20% more seats to claim it.
Mega Incubator and the Startup Advisory Council
Money is only half the policy. The state is also building the places where startups grow. It plans a Mega Incubator in public-private partnership mode.
It will fund new incubators in government and private host institutes and upgrade existing ones. Mentoring will come through tie-ups with IIT, NIFT, IIM and IISER.
A new Startup Advisory Council will steer the whole effort. Its panel is meant to include global leaders, entrepreneurs and investors. The council advises the state on how to grow the sector.
The table below sets the main founder-facing numbers in one place.
| Support | What you get | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Seed grant | Grant via empanelled incubator | Up to Rs 30 lakh |
| Investment assistance | 15% of funding raised, up to 4 times | Rs 15 lakh each, Rs 60 lakh total |
| Investment assistance, women/SC/ST | 18% of funding raised | Rs 18 lakh each time |
| Lease rental | 50% of workspace rent, 3 years | Rs 5,000 a month |
| Patent assistance | Reimbursement on a granted patent | Up to Rs 5 lakh |
| Entrepreneurs in Residence | Monthly income at idea stage, 12 months | Rs 10,000 a month |
Your Application Checklist
- Get your DPIIT recognition certificate from the Startup India portal.
- Register for GST with a Madhya Pradesh address.
- Pick an empanelled incubator in the state to route your seed grant.
- Keep proof of any funding raised, to claim the 15% or 18% top-up.
- Save lease receipts and patent papers for reimbursement claims.
The Madhya Pradesh Startup Policy 2025 will run for five years from the date it was announced. It replaces the 2022 policy but keeps its core grants. It raises the ambition to 10,000 startups.
For a founder in Indore, Bhopal or a smaller Madhya Pradesh town, the policy is a stacked set of state grants. It sits on top of national Startup India benefits.
About the Madhya Pradesh Startup Policy 2025
The Madhya Pradesh Startup Policy and Implementation Scheme 2025 is a state government scheme run by the Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Announced on February 24, 2025, it offers seed grants, investment assistance, lease and patent support, and an Rs 100 crore capital fund. It aims to grow the state to 10,000 DPIIT-recognised startups.
What this means for you: If you run a DPIIT-recognised startup based in Madhya Pradesh, these state grants stack on top of your national Startup India benefits. Get your MP-based GST registration done first, then route your seed grant through an empanelled incubator.
StartupFeed Insight
The real shift in this policy is not the Rs 100 crore fund, which flows through AIFs and will reach few founders directly. It is the Entrepreneurs in Residence money, Rs 10,000 a month for a year, paid before a startup exists. That is a bet on people at the idea stage, where most schemes wait for proof. Watch the empanelled incubator list through 2026. The seed grant and the EIR both run through it. A founder’s real access depends on how many incubators the state signs up outside Indore and Bhopal.
By Soumya Verma, Senior Correspondent
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.
