Ladakh will launch a startup policy next month backed by a ₹100 crore fund, targeting about 1,000 ventures while promoting value-added Pashmina, agriculture and horticulture businesses.
Ladakh’s administration is preparing to roll out a dedicated startup policy next month, backed by a ₹100 crore fund that officials say will be aimed at local entrepreneurs, innovation and broader economic development across the Union Territory. Administrative Secretary Himanshu Gupta said the policy framework has already been finalised and is expected to support about 1,000 startups, according to a report by The Economic Times based on his remarks to ANI.
The initiative is being positioned as more than a conventional support package for new businesses. Gupta said the administration wants to build up value addition in traditional sectors, particularly Pashmina, while also encouraging the commercial scaling of agriculture through SIDCO, the state-run industrial development body. He said the broader goal is to keep more capital circulating within the local economy and to help residents move into self-employment, production and market-facing activity.
Ladakh’s Pashmina industry is likely to be one of the clearest beneficiaries. Officials say the administration is focusing on closing processing gaps and improving access to markets for the region’s distinctive wool sector, which has long been central to its rural economy. The plan also includes events such as a Pashmina conclave, suggesting an attempt to pair policy support with industry promotion and branding.
The policy fits into a wider push to strengthen rural livelihoods in a region where farming and horticulture remain economically important. News reports citing Gupta said the administration is also placing special emphasis on agricultural and horticultural development, alongside measures intended to expand entrepreneurship among younger residents. Separate coverage from local and regional outlets said Ladakh’s chief secretary has also been reviewing possible amendments to the startup policy’s incentive structure, underlining the administration’s effort to make the framework practical as well as ambitious.
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