ONGC Announces a Rs 2,000 Crore Alternative Investment Fund for Deep-Tech Energy Startups

10 September 2026National

MC2+ Foundation, IIT Bombay and the Society for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (SINE) signed a tripartite MoU in September 2026 to support energy-sector startups with research facilities, funding, mentorship and real-world pilots, with ONGC as the partner PSU. At the event Arun Kumar Singh, ONGC Chairman and CEO, announced a Rs 2,000 crore Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) for deep-tech energy startups. In the first phase up to 30 early-stage startups get up to Rs 50 lakh in convertible funding plus up to Rs 1.5 crore milestone-based - up to Rs 2 crore each. Focus areas include AI-driven subsurface intelligence, hydrogen, compressed biogas and refinery technologies.

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ONGC was established in 1956, is India's largest government-owned oil and gas exploration and production company and is headquartered in New Delhi | ONGC functions under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, headed by Hardeep Singh Puri | SINE is IIT Bombay's technology business incubator

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