Startup hubs
Daman, Silvassa, Diu
Nodal agency
District Industries Centre, UT Administration of DNH & DD
Official portal
startupindia.gov.in (central; no verified state portal)
Tracks
By Women For Good
Straight talk: The UT has no dedicated startup portal we can verify, so start with Startup India and the District Industries Centre; central schemes apply in full.
This union territory sits on the industrial spine between Mumbai and Surat, packed with manufacturing units, plastics, engineering, pharma-adjacent, that generate real B2B problems: quality, compliance, logistics, energy. There is no dedicated UT startup portal to point you to, and honesty matters more than padding, so the play here is the central stack, DPIIT recognition, the Seed Fund Scheme, tax exemptions, combined with rock-bottom operating costs and factory customers a scooter ride away.
Flagship support
Central Startup India stack
DPIIT recognition, the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme, tax exemptions and GeM access apply fully and are your primary toolkit here.
District Industries Centre support
The DIC is the on-ground door for unit registration, MSME schemes and connecting to the UT administration.
Industrial cluster access
Hundreds of manufacturing units in Silvassa and Daman are potential pilot customers for B2B, industrial-tech and compliance startups.
Who gets extra doors opened
For women founders
Central programs for women entrepreneurs, from Stand-Up India to women-focused Seed Fund incubators, apply in full and face little local competition for attention.
For startups solving public problems
Coastal and tourism economies in Daman and Diu plus industrial-worker livelihoods create impact problems where even a small startup moves the needle.
Getting started in Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu
Get DPIIT recognition on Startup India; it unlocks the central stack that does the heavy lifting here.
Register your unit through the District Industries Centre and map applicable MSME schemes.
Build for the industrial cluster next door; a factory that pays you is better than a grant.
Official sources
Verify everything here before applying
startupindia.gov.in (central schemes)Building in Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu? Do not build alone.
Join the hub for the Starter Boost: volunteer expert consultations, curated resources and webinars, at no cost. Then use the community to find your people in Daman and beyond. Founders never pay to be here.
Scheme details, amounts and eligibility change over time and by notification. This page is a plain-language starting point, not official or legal advice. Always confirm the current rules on the official portal above before applying, and if a link has moved, search the program name to find its new home.