UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Startup India Recognises 2.07 Lakh Ventures, Creates 21.9 Lakh Jobs; Govt Expands Funding Push Through Flagship Schemes
Q1. The Startup India initiative, launched through an Action Plan in January 2016, is anchored by which one of the following as its nodal Department?
- A. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry
- B. Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
- C. Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance
- D. NITI Aayog
Q2. The Startup India Action Plan unveiled in 2016 comprised how many action items across areas such as simplification and handholding, funding support and incentives, and industry-academia partnership and incubation?
Q3. Which one of the following statements about the institutional arrangement of the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) is correct?
- A. SIDBI is the operating agency while DPIIT is the monitoring agency
- B. SIDBI acts as both the operating and the monitoring agency
- C. DPIIT, through SIDBI, invests the corpus directly into recognised startups
- D. NABARD is the operating agency while DPIIT is the monitoring agency
Q4. What is the corpus size of the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) under the Startup India initiative?
- A. ₹945 crore
- B. ₹5,000 crore
- C. ₹10,000 crore
- D. ₹25,000 crore
Q5. Which single body is responsible for the overall execution and monitoring of the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), including the evaluation and selection of incubators for allocation of funds?
- A. Experts Advisory Committee (EAC)
- B. National Startup Advisory Council
- C. Inter-Ministerial Board for startup tax exemption
- D. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)
Q6. With reference to how the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) differs from the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), consider the following statements:
1. Unlike FFS, which participates only in the capital of SEBI-registered AIFs, SISFS provides financial assistance routed through selected incubators.
2. SISFS targets early/seed-stage needs such as proof of concept and prototype development, whereas FFS provides growth-stage equity support.
3. SISFS has a larger sanctioned corpus than FFS.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Unlike FFS, which participates only in the capital of SEBI-registered AIFs, SISFS provides financial assistance routed through selected incubators.
- SISFS targets early/seed-stage needs such as proof of concept and prototype development, whereas FFS provides growth-stage equity support.
- SISFS has a larger sanctioned corpus than FFS.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q7. Under the umbrella-based guarantee cover of the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) extended to Venture Debt Funds, the guarantee is subject to a maximum of how much per borrower?
- A. ₹5 crore
- B. ₹10 crore
- C. ₹15 crore
- D. ₹20 crore
Q8. The Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS), enabling collateral-free debt funding to DPIIT-recognised startups, was notified by DPIIT in which year?
- A. 2016
- B. 2020
- C. 2022
- D. 2023
Q9. Under Section 80-IAC of the Income Tax Act, an eligible DPIIT-recognised startup is entitled to a 100% deduction of profits and gains for how many consecutive assessment years out of the ten years from incorporation?
- A. Any 3 consecutive assessment years
- B. Any 5 consecutive assessment years
- C. All 7 consecutive assessment years
- D. All 10 consecutive assessment years
Q10. Consider the following conditions stated in relation to DPIIT recognition of an entity as a 'startup':
1. The entity should not have completed ten years from the date of its incorporation.
2. Its turnover should not have exceeded ₹100 crore in any financial year since incorporation.
3. The entity should have been formed by splitting up or reconstruction of an existing business.
4. It should be working towards innovation, development or improvement of products, processes or services.
Which of the above is/are NOT correctly stated as a condition for DPIIT recognition?
- The entity should not have completed ten years from the date of its incorporation.
- Its turnover should not have exceeded ₹100 crore in any financial year since incorporation.
- The entity should have been formed by splitting up or reconstruction of an existing business.
- It should be working towards innovation, development or improvement of products, processes or services.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 3 only
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 2 only
Q11. With reference to the cumulative position of Startup India as on 31 December 2025, consider the following:
1. The number of DPIIT-recognised startups stood at 2,07,135.
2. Recognised startups had generated over 21.9 lakh direct jobs.
3. AIFs supported under the FFS had invested about ₹25,548 crore in 1,371 startups.
4. CGSS had guaranteed startup loans across all 36 States and Union Territories.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- The number of DPIIT-recognised startups stood at 2,07,135.
- Recognised startups had generated over 21.9 lakh direct jobs.
- AIFs supported under the FFS had invested about ₹25,548 crore in 1,371 startups.
- CGSS had guaranteed startup loans across all 36 States and Union Territories.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1, 2 and 3
- C. 2, 3 and 4
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q12. Consider the following measures cited in the context of easing compliance and improving the business environment for startups under the Startup India framework:
1. Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP)
2. Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023
3. Self-certification of compliance under specified labour and environmental laws
4. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
Which of the above is/are NOT correctly identified as an ease-of-doing-business or compliance-easing lever for startups?
- Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP)
- Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023
- Self-certification of compliance under specified labour and environmental laws
- Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
- A. 4 only
- B. 3 and 4
- C. 1 and 2
- D. 2 only