Startup Punjab: Seed Grants, Incubation Hub, Startup Conclave & entrepreneurship curriculum

Last Updated: 5 November 2026

4 Nov 2026: ₹1.17 crore seed grants to 28 startups at Punjab Investor Circle 2.0^[1]

-- Total ₹6.80 crore seed funding to 222 startups^[1:1]
-- Startups grew from 36 (2021-22) to 404 (2026)^[1:2]
-- Top Performer in States' Startup Ranking Framework 4.0 and 5.0^[1:3]

Entrepreneurship curriculum: compulsory subject for ~5.6 lakh students in 3,692 Govt schools, plus ITIs, polytechnics & colleges: details

Neuron 2.0: ₹29 crore tech incubation hub (Startup Punjab Hub) at STPI Mohali; MoU signed 19 Aug 2026^[2]
-- Focus: cybersecurity, AI, data analytics, IoT & graphics
-- Target: nurture 50+ startups in 5 years
-- Target: train 2,000 professionals in 5 years

Neuron 1.0 IMPACT^[2:1]
-- 114 startups incubated
-- 158 products & 171 prototypes
-- ~2,700 jobs created
-- ₹251 crore investment raised
-- Combined valuation ~₹2,890 crore

1. Punjab Investor Circle 2.0 and seed grants (Nov 2026)^[1:4]

• Launched by Industries and Commerce Minister Aman Arora
• Second edition; the first was held in July at INST Mohali
• Seed grants of up to ₹15 lakh, paid in 2 tranches, under Punjab Startup Policy 2026
• Eligible startups also get interest and lease rental subsidies
• Eligible startups also get purchase preference in government procurement
• About 50% of startups have women directors
• More than 350 outreach activities held
• 10 startups pitched to investors and an expert jury
• MoU signed with Zoho under Zoho for Startups: eligible startups get pro-bono Zoho Wallet Credits worth up to ₹1.86 lakh

2. Startup Punjab Conclave (Jan 2026)^[3]

• Punjab's 1st-ever Startup Conclave at LPU, Phagwara on 12 Jan 2026; 100+ startups with investors & incubators
• CM's mantra to youth: become job creators, not job seekers

3. Entrepreneurship in ITIs & Polytechnics^[4]

• Entrepreneurship/Business curriculum in 322 ITIs & 91 Polytechnics
• 36,139 students (28,967 ITI + 7,172 Polytechnic) working on business ideas on a digital platform
• Quarterly residential Startup Bootcamps; 1st held at MGSIPA in March 2026

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