Department of Industries, Government of Bihar

The Department of Industries, Government of Bihar, is the state body tasked with industrial and entrepreneurship development. It runs the Bihar Startup Policy 2022-2027, which seeks to build a support ecosystem for startups statewide. Operating out of Vikash Bhawan in Patna, the department maintains the Startup Bihar portal, the single-window interface for entrepreneurs applying for government support. Its wider mandate spans industrial development, employment generation and economic growth through entrepreneurship, with startup-specific work delivered via the Bihar Startup Policy through financial incentives, infrastructure support and regulatory facilitation for registered startups.

As the implementing agency for the state's startup policy, the department builds the entrepreneurial infrastructure of one of India's most populous states. Bihar has historically trailed other states in startup activity; the department's programmes address this by lowering entry barriers for first-time founders and offering financial incentives that make Bihar a workable base for a startup. Benefits under the Bihar Startup Policy 2022 include seed funding, matching funds on a 1:1 basis for investments raised by incubators, subsidised co-working spaces and shared office infrastructure, complimentary business valuation services, patent filing assistance and marketing support. Registration and access to all scheme benefits are handled online through the Startup Bihar portal, and the department partners with incubators and educational institutions across the state to build local startup support capacity.

The policy targets first-time founders in Bihar, entrepreneurs in Tier 2-3 cities such as Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur and Bhagalpur, student entrepreneurs from Bihar's universities, and incubators seeking government support for their operations, and is designed to be accessible to founders without prior exposure to the startup ecosystem. It marks a step towards decentralising India's startup ecosystem beyond Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi: by extending financial incentives and infrastructure in a state of over 120 million people, the department aims to make the next wave of Indian entrepreneurship more geographically diverse and inclusive.