By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has signed a series of strategic Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with five key industry and ecosystem partners to strengthen infrastructure, mentorship, investment and market access for startups.
The partnerships with Cashfree Payments, Darwin Dynamics LLP, Vultr India Pvt Ltd, Cars24 Services Private Limited and the Council for Startup India (CSI) are aimed at providing DPIIT-recognised startups with greater access to digital infrastructure, technology, finance, mentoring and global opportunities.
Under the agreement with Cashfree Payments, startups will gain access to secure payment and payout solutions, identity verification, risk management services and preferential onboarding. The partnership will also support founder workshops, mentoring programmes, AI buildathons and hackathons, with a focus on digital payments, compliance, fraud prevention, KYC and cross-border transactions.
The MoU with Darwin Dynamics seeks to expand entrepreneurship beyond major urban centres, particularly in Tier-II, Tier-III and rural regions. It will promote startup formalisation, bootcamps, mentorship and market access, while encouraging innovation in areas such as artificial intelligence, clean energy, green hydrogen, climate technology and advanced manufacturing. Special focus will be placed on youth, women entrepreneurs and first-generation founders.
Through its partnership with Vultr India, DPIIT-recognised startups will receive access to cloud credits, preferential pricing and technical support. Training will cover cloud computing, databases, Kubernetes, networking and application deployment, helping startups reduce technology barriers and scale their digital operations.
The Cars24 partnership will focus on mobility, automotive technology and artificial intelligence. It will support founder mentorship, skilling programmes, innovation challenges and hackathons, while creating opportunities for promising startups in mobility and AI.
Meanwhile, the MoU with the Council for Startup India aims to improve startups’ access to investment, corporate partnerships, mentorship and international markets. CSI will support programmes related to investment readiness, CFO matchmaking, governance, compliance, global expansion and international innovation collaborations.
The government said the partnerships will strengthen the Startup India ecosystem by combining DPIIT’s institutional reach with industry expertise, enabling startups to scale, innovate and compete globally while contributing to India’s emergence as a leading innovation-driven economy.