India has rewritten the rulebook for startups in the country, carving out a separate deep‑tech category with a longer recognition window and higher turnover ceiling in a move aimed at research‑heavy, capital‑intensive ventures.
In a gazette notification dated February 4, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said deep‑tech startups recognised under the Startup India framework will be eligible for benefits for up to 20 years from incorporation, twice the 10‑year limit that continues to apply to other startups. The annual turnover cap for such entities has been set at Rs. 300 crore.
The notification replaces the 2019 definition of a startup and, for the first time, provides a formal policy definition of what counts as “deep tech”. DPIIT describes deep‑tech startups as entities building solutions rooted in new scientific or engineering knowledge, with high research‑and‑development intensity, ownership or creation of novel intellectual property, long development timelines and substantial technical uncertainty.
Sectors explicitly cited in government and industry commentary include artificial intelligence and associated infrastructure, semiconductors, space, biotechnology, new materials, energy and quantum technologies.
Governments from Washington to Brussels and Beijing have been racing to update startup and industrial‑policy regimes to court deep‑tech founders, whose capital needs and time horizons sit awkwardly with standard venture‑capital cycles. Europe has launched targeted deep‑tech funds, while America has used instruments such as the CHIPS and Science Act to back strategic technologies; China continues to marshal state support for advanced manufacturing and hard tech.
India has recently launched a research, development and innovation fund of Rs. 100,000 crore.
The move to extend recognition to 20 years and raise the turnover threshold is cast in Delhi as an attempt to signal that the government is prepared to match the longer gestation of frontier technologies with a more patient policy framework at the highest levels.
“This is a decisive and forward‑looking move by the government. By formally recognising deep‑tech startups and giving them a longer runway, India is aligning policy with the realities of science‑led innovation,” Vishesh Rajaram, founding partner at the well know deep tech VC firm Speciale Invest, said in an emailed statement.
“It sends a clear signal that the country is serious about building IP‑driven deep‑tech companies from India for the world—and gives founders and investors the confidence to commit long‑term capital to that journey,” Rajaram added.
Beyond timelines and turnover, the revised framework also tweaks the scope of who can qualify as a startup under the scheme. Cooperative societies are now eligible alongside companies and LLPs, broadening access to benefits, while regular startups retain a 10‑year recognition window and see their turnover cap raised from Rs. 100 crore to Rs. 200 crore.
DPIIT will continue to process applications through its portal, but deep‑tech ventures must furnish additional evidence of scientific novelty, R&D spend and IP creation to qualify for the extended treatment.
“India just gave deep tech a real policy home and BYT Capital welcomes DPIIT’s new Deep Tech Startup definition (4 Feb 2026), a timely step that aligns policy with the realities of frontier innovation,” Amit Chand, founder of BYT Capital, an early stage deep tech VC firm in Bengaluru, said in an emailed statement.
“By extending startup recognition for eligible deep‑tech ventures to 20 years and raising the turnover threshold to Rs. 300 crore, this policy doesn’t just add a label, it improves time horizons, capital efficiency, and investability for deep‑tech in India,” Chand said.
He added: “This is a meaningful step toward making India more ‘fundable’ for frontier innovation because policy timelines now look closer to deep‑tech timelines”.
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