Chandigarh, JAN 2The Chandigarh administration has begun accepting applications under its Startup Policy (2025) after notifying detailed operational guidelines, nearly eight months after the policy was announced.
The UT Industries Department said the guidelines are aimed at enabling smooth implementation of the policy, which was notified on April 29, 2025, with the objective of building an innovation-driven startup ecosystem in the Union Territory.
“The operational guidelines lay down eligibility conditions, application and approval procedures, fund disbursement mechanisms and monitoring frameworks to ensure transparency and ease of access for all stakeholders,” an official notification said.
The guidelines will remain valid for five years, in line with the policy period. To qualify for benefits, startups must be recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and be located in Chandigarh. The annual turnover of a startup should not exceed Rs 100 crore in any preceding financial year.
Startups availing benefits under similar schemes in other states for the same project or product will not be eligible, the administration said.
Incubators seeking support under the policy must be registered legal entities in India, operational within a 100-km aerial radius of Chandigarh, and have Chandigarh-based startups enrolled with them.
All applications from startups and incubators will be processed through the Start-In-Chandigarh Portal and evaluated under established selection criteria. Final approval will be granted by the Project Monitoring and Implementation Committee (PMIC), UT.
Under the policy, eligible startups will receive one-time reimbursement of up to Rs 50,000 per engagement for participation in national-level conferences and workshops, and up to Rs 2.5 lakh per engagement for international events, subject to PMIC approval.
The administration has earmarked an annual corpus of Rs 10 crore for implementation of the policy. Startup status will cease after 10 years or once a company crosses an annual turnover of Rs 100 crore.
Officials said the policy is designed to support the creation and growth of more than 200 startups over the next five years and encourage a culture of research, innovation and entrepreneurship in Chandigarh.
