The government on Wednesday launched a programme to support 300 IT start-ups under which it will provide seed funding, mentorship and market access with a view to creating 100 unicorns out of the selected start-ups.

Ministry of Electronics and IT special secretary Jyoti Arora said that the concept of the Startup Accelerator of MeitY for Product Innovation, Development & Growth (SAMRIDH) has been developed on the lines of silicon valley based accelerator YCombinator.

IT and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that he has mentored over 20 start-ups earlier and understands the need of mentoring them during the most important part of their journey when their idea is getting converted into products.

He said the lack of funds for start-ups is not a big issue.

"Lack of getting the idea into a real product or lack of collecting the skill sets which are needed to convert an idea into an enterprise is a bigger challenge for most of the start-ups. If we are able to start-up in that journey then probably our value addition will be huge," Vaishnaw said.

Under the Samridh programme, the Meity will provide seed funds of up to Rs 40 lakh for the selected start-ups and mentorship for six months.