Centre Invests ₹22.5K Cr In 128 Startups Via Electronics Development Fund

Startups and companies backed through the government’s Electronics Development Fund (EDF) have collectively raised about ₹22,553.82 Cr, union minister of information and technology Ashwini Vaishnaw told Parliament on Wednesday.

In a reply to the Lok Sabha today, Vaishnaw said the EDF has invested ₹257.77 Cr across eight SEBI-registered daughter funds as of June 30, 2026.

These funds have invested ₹1,335.77 Cr in 128 startups and companies across the electronics and IT sectors. 

According to the Centre, daughter funds have leveraged the EDF’s investment to raise nearly five times as much capital from the market. The companies which the fund has supported have also created or acquired 373 intellectual properties.

The EDF was conceived under the National Policy on Electronics, 2012, with its policy framework introduced during Digital India Week on July 1, 2015. It was formally launched on February 15, 2016.

Understanding The Electronics Development Fund 

EDF was set up as a fund of funds to promote market-driven innovation in electronics system design and manufacturing. Instead of investing directly in startups, the EDF invests in professionally managed SEBI-registered venture funds, referred to as daughter funds, which then provide risk capital to startups and companies developing new technologies in ESDM and IT.

Canbank Venture Capital Funds Ltd is the fund manager, while the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is the anchor investor.

“The selection of startups for investments by the Daughter Funds of EDF were made on the basis of various parameters which included their innovation capability, indigenous technology development, and IP creation potential, technical capability of the founding team as well as a scalable and commercially viable business mode,” Vaishnaw said.

Among states, Karnataka accounted for the largest share of investments, with 90 companies receiving funding, including 89 in Bengaluru and one in Belagavi. The state accounted for ₹854.54 Cr of investments through the invested funds.

Telangana’s Hyderabad followed with seven companies and ₹129.97 Cr in investments, while Maharashtra’ Mumbai and Pune saw eight companies across Mumbai and Pune receive ₹142.48 Cr.

Tamil Nadu had five companies backed with ₹62.24 Cr, while six companies in Delhi received ₹99.2 Cr. Kerala saw six companies receive ₹13.30 Cr, while three companies in Haryana received ₹23.87 Cr.

One company each was backed in Rajasthan, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, with investments of ₹7.5 Cr, ₹0.75 Cr and ₹1.85 Cr, respectively.

Centre Doubles Down On Electronics Manufacturing 

The disclosure comes as the government steps up efforts to deepen India’s electronics and semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem.

Earlier this month, the Union Cabinet approved the second phase of the Indian Semiconductor Mission, Semicon 2.0, with an outlay of ₹1.28 Lakh Cr.

The programme will focus on six areas, including chip design, semiconductor manufacturing, packaging, equipment and materials, research, and talent development. 

Under the design pillar, the government plans to expand support for India’s chip design ecosystem. Around 105 startups are already developing chips, while the new programme will support semiconductor intellectual property, chip designs and system-level products.

The Centre has also approved a ₹62,500 Cr Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme aimed at boosting domestic handset manufacturing through incentives linked to eligible sales, domestic sourcing and research and development.

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