In just three months, on 31 March 2026, India’s Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) is supposed to touch two milestones. 

First, the 10-year window for the Rs 10,000 crore ($1 billion) FFS 1.0 will formally come to an end. And second, the initial tranche of funding under FFS 2.0—of Rs 2,000 crore—should have been passed on to the fund’s operating agency, Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi), for disbursal.

The reality is, neither milestone is likely to be hit. At least not fully.

Of the Rs 10,000 crore mandate of FFS 1.0, only Rs 6,800 crore has been handed over to Sidbi for disbursal, of which only Rs 6,500 crore has been disbursed to alternative investment funds (AIFs) so far, a spokesperson for Sidbi told The Ken. And FFS 2.0? That’s still a headline, waiting to be realised. “No guidelines pertaining to FFS 2.0 have been released yet,” he added.

No one denies the role of FFS 1.0 in catalysing India’s startup ecosystem—from around 3,000EntrepreneurHow Indian Startups Are Competing With Global Giants Like Google & Facebook startups back in 2016 to over 200,000 now. Even the number of unicorns has jumped from nine to over a 100. 

Mostly due to FFS 1.0’s multiplier effect. The math goes something like this: for every FFS commitment to AIFs, they themselves must invest at least 5–10X of that into startups recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIITA central government department under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, It is the nodal agency responsible for formulating and implementing developmental measures for the growth of India's industrial sector, internal trade, and entrepreneurship). 

The result: Sidbi has so far committed Rs 12,000 crore to AIFs for investments in startups, surpassing FFS 1.0’s mandate. This has cascaded into a cumulative commitment of Rs 91,000 crore across 150 AIFs that have invested in 1,270 startups, including 22 unicorns, according to the Sidbi spokesperson. 

Put simply, every rupee invested by FFS 1.0 drew a corresponding commitment of Rs 7.5 from private investors.