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The Cabinet has approved the second tranche of the Startup India Fund of Funds Scheme with a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday. The key focus would be on deep tech startups, early growth stage startups through smaller funds, tech-driven innovative manufacturing startups, and sector/stage agnostic startups, he added. There will be operational flexibilities, including higher government contribution in AlFs (alternative investment funds) funding deep tech and high-tech manufacturing, the minister said. The Union Cabinet approved the scheme in a meeting on Friday. The fund will encourage the long-term investing culture and patient capital. The government in 2016 had constituted a Fund of Funds worth Rs 10,000 crore to provide seed capital and enable startups take calculated risks. Following the successful utilisation of the first tranche, a second phase of Rs 10,000 crore was sanctioned in the Union Budget for 2025-26. So far, over 2 lakh en
About 40 startup founders and business representatives met here on Saturday to discuss problem-focused solutions to tackle Delhi's air pollution, a statement said. The meeting, held at Central Park here, was attended by representatives from venture capital and private equity firms. Startups working in areas such as mobility, agriculture and air purification shared their approaches and discussed challenges in expanding these interventions, the statement added. Vishal Lavti, co-founder of carpooling and bike-pooling platform Quick Ride, said private vehicles contribute significantly to the city's pollution levels. "While long-term solutions like electric vehicles will help, there are simple actions that can be taken immediately. Carpooling is one of the easiest and most effective options as it requires no additional infrastructure, only awareness and participation," he said. Another entrepreneur, Roshan Shankar of Saroja Earth, said incomplete burning of crop residue remains a major