Start-up India is an initiative of the Government of India launched on 16 January 2016. The campaign was first announced by Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi during his 15 August 2015 address from the Red Fort, in New Delhi. This was a 19-point action plan for start-up enterprises in India. This also included the statement that there would be no inspection of the enterprises during the first three years of the launch. He announced an all-inclusive action plan to boost such ventures that would boost employment generation and wealth creation.
The 19-point action plan included the following:
1) Self-certification
2) Start-up India hub
3) Register through app
4) Patent protection
5) Rs. 10,000 crore fund
6) National Credit Guarantee Trust Company
7) No Capital Gains Tax
8) No Income Tax for three years
9) Tax exemption of investments of higher value
10) Building entrepreneurs
11) Atal Innovation Scheme
12) Setting up incubators
13) Research parks
14) Entrepreneurship in biotechnology
15) Dedicated programs in schools
16) Legal support
17) Rebate
18) Easy rules
19) Faster exit
So, the basic action plan of this initiative is focusing on three areas:
- Simplification and Handholding
- Funding Support and Incentives
- Industry-Academia Partnership and Incubation
The initial capital allocated by the government for this was Rs 20,000 crore. The partners in this initiative are the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Ministry of Science and Technology who agreed to set up over 75 such startup support hubs in the National Institutes of Technology (NITs), the Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs), the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) and National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPERs). In addition to this, the Reserve Bank of India said it will take steps to help improve the ‘ease of doing businesses in the country and contribute to an ecosystem that is conducive for the growth of start-up businesses.
The Department of Industry and Internal Trade announced the result of first-ever startup state ranking in December 2018 based on the criteria of policy, incubation hubs, scaling innovation, seeding innovation, procurement, regulatory change, and communication. Out of all the states, the best-performing state was Gujarat. The other top formers were Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, and Rajasthan. The emerging states were Assam, Goa, Delhi, Maharashtra, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, and Punjab.
In a bid to boost the rural economy, the government launched the Startup Village Entrepreneurship Program to foster 1.82 lakh entrepreneurs over a period of four years, in 40 blocks across 14 states. As part of this program, the states undertake the initial baseline and market potential study of their respective blocks with help from the approved Program Implementing Agency for fostering startups and taking care of the financial aspects for the entrepreneurs.
About the author: Riya is a pure soul, who loves to explore herself and the world around her. Writing has been magnetizing her since her early teenage years.