Seniorcare Ageing Growth Engine (SAGE)

What is Seniorcare Ageing Growth Engine (SAGE)?

Seniorcare Ageing Growth Engine (SAGE) is the enterprise-support component of Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana, the umbrella senior citizens scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. SAGE was launched on 4 June 2021 together with the SAGE portal, and its stated objective is to identify, promote and support innovative start-ups and start-up ideas that serve the welfare and well-being of senior citizens.

SAGE is built around the idea of a "silver economy", that India's growing elderly population is a market that credible companies should be able to serve, and that the government's role is to seed that market rather than to run the services itself. The SAGE portal doubles as a one-stop directory of elder-care products and services offered by the selected start-ups, so that a senior citizen or a family member can find vetted providers in one place.

According to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, financial support under SAGE takes the form of equity investment of up to Rs 1 crore per project, made through IFCI Venture Capital Funds Ltd, subject to the condition that total government equity in the start-up does not exceed 49%. The scheme had an allocation of Rs 25 crore in its first year, 2021-22.

Who is eligible for SAGE?

SAGE is a company-facing scheme. The department describes two entry routes, both subject to the same core company conditions.

Route A, innovation challenge winners. Winners of national innovation challenges such as the Smart India Hackathon who propose to set up a company in the elderly-care space.

Route B; existing elder-care start-ups. Companies already working in the elderly segment and seeking to expand.

Core conditions a start-up must meet:

• Incorporated or registered in India for less than 10 years.
• Annual turnover not exceeding Rs 25 crore.
• Structured as a private limited or public limited company.
• Not formed by splitting up or reconstructing an existing business.
• Working on products or services in health, housing, care centres, or technology-linked access to finance, food, travel, wealth management or legal guidance for older people.

Who cannot apply:

• Individual senior citizens cannot apply for SAGE. SAGE makes no payment to any person, pays no pension and runs no beneficiary list. This is the single most common misreading of the scheme.
• Sole proprietorships, partnership firms and unregistered ventures are not eligible, because the support is equity in a company.
• Companies older than 10 years or with turnover above Rs 25 crore are not eligible.
• Start-ups outside the elder-care space are not eligible, however innovative the product.

Senior citizens looking for a direct benefit should read Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana for free assistive devices, or the Integrated Programme for Senior Citizens for shelter and care.

What documents are required for SAGE?

How to apply for SAGE funding

Only companies apply, and the route is online.

1. Confirm the start-up meets the core conditions: under 10 years old, a private or public limited company, turnover within Rs 25 crore, and working in elder care.
2. Open the SAGE portal hosted on the Senior Citizens Welfare Portal at scw.dosje.gov.in and register the company.
3. Complete the application with company details and a project proposal setting out the elder-care product or service, what is innovative about it, the market it addresses and how the investment will be used.
4. Upload the certificate of incorporation, audited financials and the declaration that the company was not formed by splitting or reconstruction.
5. Submit for evaluation and selection by the ministry, which selects on the basis of innovation in the product or service.
6. On selection, complete the investment agreement with IFCI Venture Capital Funds Ltd, which is the fund manager that releases the equity investment.

Watch the ministry's and the National Institute of Social Defence's websites for the current year's SAGE advertisement — applications are invited in rounds rather than being open continuously.

How much support does SAGE provide?

SAGE provides equity investment of up to Rs 1 crore per project. Two conditions define the shape of that support:

• It is equity, not a grant or a subsidy. The government takes a shareholding and expects a return; the money does not have to be repaid like a loan but it is not free either.
• Total government equity cannot exceed 49% of the start-up, so the founders retain control.

The investment is routed through IFCI Venture Capital Funds Ltd, not paid directly by the ministry.

Help and grievance redressal

• SAGE portal: scw.dosje.gov.in, for registration, the current call for applications and the directory of selected start-ups.
• Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, socialjustice.gov.in, for scheme guidelines and advertisements.
• Elderline: 14567, for senior citizens who want help finding a vetted elder-care provider listed on the portal.

No fee is charged for applying to SAGE, and no consultant can guarantee selection.