The Maharashtra cabinet on Tuesday approved a policy that aims to nurture 1.25 lakh entrepreneurs and recognise 50,000 startups over a period of five years, to make the state India's most vibrant and future-ready startup destination.
The Maharashtra Startup, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Policy 2025, designed by the Department of Skills, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation (SEEID) and executed through the Maharashtra State Innovation Society (MSInS), will develop a globally competitive ecosystem based on inclusivity, innovation, and economic resilience, an official release added.
The emphasis cuts across emerging technology industries and under-served communities — women-led, youth-led enterprises, and urban, rural businesses.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stated, "This is not simply a policy — it is a commitment to transform Maharashtra as a national and international hotspot for innovation-driven entrepreneurship and would make the state achieve its vision of becoming a trillion-dollar economy. It would enhance the state's overall attempt at building a world-class infrastructure and catalysing its growth."
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State Skills Development Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha noted that a major part of the policy includes setting up the Chief Minister's Maha-Fund, a ₹500 crore fund to nurture 25,000 budding entrepreneurs from among a pool of five lakh young people.
They shall be chosen through a tough three-stage process and be given mentoring, incubation, and financial support. To enhance infrastructure, the government will set up micro-incubators in ITIs, polytechnics, and universities, besides dedicated regional innovation and entrepreneurship hubs in every division.
The hubs will be concentrated on high-potential areas like AI, Deeptech, FinTech, MedTech, Cybersecurity, and Sustainability.
Maharashtra Innovation City — a 300-acre campus — will be a convergence point for startups, corporates, academia, and government, providing collaborative research space and innovation space.
Selected startups during the Maharashtra Startup Week will get to work closely with government departments and get pilot work orders of up to ₹25 lakh, the release added.
The policy provides financial reimbursements for filing patents, product quality certifications, and attending domestic and overseas exhibitions, it added.
Startups with work orders sanctioned by genuine clients, including government agencies, will also be granted loan support through a special mechanism underwritten by financial institutions.
In order to facilitate easy delivery and coordination between departments, the policy instituting a governance structure supported by a general body headed by the chief minister and an implementation governing council.
Every state department will reserve 0.5 per cent of its expenditure in a year to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship.
According to the release, all schemes will be routed through MSInS, which will be the central body for innovation and entrepreneurship activity in the state.
The department had conducted a number of citizen, startup, academic institution, incubator, investor, and subject matter expert stakeholder consultations. These informed the design of the most important initiatives directly, such as regional incubation support, better access to mentors, streamlined incentive processes, and methods for increasing digital literacy and entrepreneurship skills.
Manisha Verma, additional chief secretary of SEEID, stated that the policy is shaped by widespread stakeholder engagement.
With over 30,000 DPIIT-identified startups, Maharashtra is already leading India's startup ecosystem. The policy for 2025 is not merely aimed at ramping up this momentum but also increasing it significantly, she added.
"Through the provision of an online mentoring facility, AI innovation data repository, ease of access to financial and technical assistance, the establishment of a venture fund and regional specialised hubs for innovation with industry-specific emphasis— it is a far-reaching and forward-looking policy with social inclusion," the statement observed.
Having the CM at the helm of its governing board and participation by all key departments, the state will have much-needed unifying strategic thinking and policy convergence, which will make the state a destination of choice for investors and innovators, Verma stated.
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