Maharashtra Startup Week — ₹15 Lakh Government Work Orders for 24 Startups a Year
Government as first customer
Maharashtra Startup Week is MSInS's flagship annual programme. Startups apply against sector tracks — agriculture, health, education, governance, mobility, sustainability and others — and pitch to departmental panels. Twenty-four winners each receive a work order of up to ₹15 lakh from the Government of Maharashtra to pilot their product with a department, with access to officials, data and handholding through the pilot.
It is the one state programme on this list that pays the startup as a vendor rather than a grantee: the ₹15 lakh is revenue for services rendered, the pilot is a government reference, and a successful pilot has led several winners to larger state contracts.
What else MSInS runs
- •MahaFund: a ₹500 crore fund of funds investing in SEBI-registered AIFs that back Maharashtra startups
- •IPR reimbursement: up to ₹2 lakh for Indian patents and up to ₹10 lakh for international filings — among the highest in the country
- •Maharashtra Startup and Innovation Yatra, incubator support, and the state's startup policy incentives
What a winner receives
| Item | Position |
|---|---|
| Work order | Up to ₹15 lakh from the Government of Maharashtra for a pilot deployment |
| Pilot | Six to twelve months with a named department; access to personnel and data |
| Nature | Procurement of the startup's product or service — treated as revenue, GST applies |
| Follow-on | Eligibility for scale-up procurement if the pilot succeeds; investor and mentor access through MSInS |
Department and panels
MSInS, under the Department of Skill, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, runs the call. Panels of departmental officers, sector experts and investors select winners; the concerned department issues the work order.
Registered with MSInS, deployable solution
- •Startup registered on the MSInS portal; DPIIT recognition expected
- •A working product or service that can be deployed with a government department within the pilot period
- •Fit with one of the edition's published sector tracks
- •Maharashtra presence is favoured; some editions have admitted startups from outside the state willing to deploy in Maharashtra
What the application and work order need
- •Certificate of Incorporation, DPIIT recognition, MSInS registration
- •Pitch deck and product demonstration; evidence of prior deployments or pilots
- •Pilot proposal: department problem addressed, deployment plan, timeline, deliverables and cost breakdown within ₹15 lakh
- •GST registration and PAN — the work order is a procurement
- •Founder KYC and team profiles
- •For IPR reimbursement: patent or trademark filing receipts, fee invoices, and the application number
Questions founders ask about Startup Week
No. It is a government work order — you deliver a pilot and invoice the department. It counts as revenue, which for a young startup is often worth more than a grant.
MSInS registration is required and Maharashtra-based startups are the target. Check the edition's rules; the pilot in any case must run with a Maharashtra department.
Like the central Fund of Funds: MahaFund invests in AIFs, and those AIFs invest in startups. You approach a MahaFund-backed fund, not MSInS.
It runs annually; applications typically open a few months before the event. MSInS announces dates on its portal and social channels.