SIDBI clears Rs 930 crore to support VC funds

Looks like Indian government's 'Startup India, Stand Up India' programme is getting onto the right track. In a recent development, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has cleared Rs 930 crore from the Rs 2,000-crore fund-of-funds that was launched in August to support venture capital funds.

SIDBI's India Aspiration Fund (IAF) has already screened over 30 venture capital funds since its launch, and sanction letters have been issued to more than half of them.

"Proposals from 24 venture capital funds for an aggregate commitment of Rs 930 crore have been cleared in principle by the venture capital investment committee (VCIC) so far, out of which sanction letters have already been issued to 16 VCFs with an aggregate commitment of Rs 482 crore, where documentation is in progress," SIDBI Chairman and MD Kshatrapati Shivaji told ET.

There are a dozen proposals for a potential commitment of around Rs 500 crore that are lined up for the consideration of Venture Capital Investment Committee (VCIC), which comprises of a panel of experts in various fields who are advising SIDBI in screening the venture funds.
This panel includes TV Mohandas Pai, chairman of Manipal Global Education Services; Sanjeev Bikchandani, founder of Naukri.com owner InfoEdge; Saurabh Srivastava of Indian Angel Network; Kiran Karnik, former Nasscom chief; Vaidyanathan, IIM-Bangalore; and Harkesh Mittal, programme head of innovation, entrepreneurship and technology commercialisation at the Department of Science and Technology. Two senior SIDBI executives are also included in the panel.

After application, the proposals are put up to an executive committee of the bank's board, which then sanctions these applications. SIDBI has already supported Blume Ventures, Orios, YourNest, Ivy Capital and Infuse Ventures through IAF.

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