HDFC Bank to Fund INR 20 Cr for Social Impact Start-ups in FY26 The programme will fund 10 strategic initiatives in priority sectors such as climate innovation, agriculture and sustainable livelihoods, manufacturing and MSME innovation, financial inclusion, and gender diversity and inclusion.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
HDFC Bank has announced the launch of the FY26 edition of its Parivartan Start-up Grants programme, aimed at supporting social impact-driven innovations across India.
The initiative will disburse INR 20 crore in non-dilutive grants to assist start-ups with pilots, validation, and early-stage scale-ups.
The programme will fund 10 strategic initiatives in priority sectors such as climate innovation, agriculture and sustainable livelihoods, manufacturing and MSME innovation, financial inclusion, and gender diversity and inclusion. Emerging areas including AI and deep technology are also part of the focus for this edition.
The programme operates through a portfolio-based, incubator-led model. Partner incubators are responsible for programme design, start-up outreach, evaluation, mentoring, monitoring, and impact reporting.
In FY26, the programme will expand its partnerships with leading institutions to deliver targeted sectoral support. Key partnerships include IIT Madras Incubation Centre, IISC Bangalore-FSID, SINE IIT Bombay for deep-tech start-ups, IIM Bangalore NSRCEL and IIM Lucknow Enterprise Incubation Centre for financial inclusion, T-Works for manufacturing, BITS Pilani for climate innovation, and Villgro Innovation Foundation for waste management.
Beyond funding, the programme emphasises ecosystem development. Initiatives include regional development projects such as the Punjab start-up ecosystem led by ISB i-Venture in partnership with Startup Punjab, and a pan-India incubator capacity-building programme for emerging incubators supported by DST, DPIIT-Startup India, MeitY Startup Hub, BIRAC, and state start-up promotion agencies.
Since its inception in 2017, the Parivartan Start-up Grants programme claims to have supported over 500 start-ups, including 87 in FY25, through collaborations with more than 130 incubators. The programme has cumulatively deployed over INR 85 crore in grants, with nearly 40% of start-ups originating from tier II and tier III cities. Supported start-ups have raised more than INR 900 crore in external funding, with approximately 40% co-founded by women.
Applications for FY26 will be routed through partner incubators, who will independently share timelines and application details.
