Action plan under ‘Make in India’ to promote start-ups
In addition to ongoing efforts, the Government of India is gearing up for a separate action plan under ‘Make in India’ to boost entrepreneurs in the country. “An action plan has been prepared for 22 sectors under ‘Make in India’ initiative to promote new entrepreneurs in the country. An Investor Facilitation Cell has been created in Invest India to assist and handhold investors,” said Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Commerce Minister, in a written reply to Lok Sabha on Monday. A Startup Action Plan has also been released by the government. The intention of this plan is to create a conducive environment for startups in India. The plan has several measures including measures for simplification and handholding of procedures, funding and incentive-based support and Industry-Academia Partnership and Incubation. Under simplification mechanism, government intends to ensure start-ups with a ‘Simple Compliance Regime’ based on process of self-certification, a ‘Start-up India Hub’ to handhold startups during their development phases, legal support & fast-tracking patent examination at reduced costs and relaxed norms of public procurement and faster exit. Under funding and incentive-based support, government offers start-ups a corpus fund of Rs.10,000 crore through a Fund of Funds, Credit guarantee fund, tax exemption on capital gains invested in Fund of Funds and tax exemption for a period of 3 years. Through Industry-Academia collaboration move, the government plans to harness private sector expertise for setting up incubators and also host an Annual Incubator Grand Challenge to promote good practices among incubators, set up 7 new research parks modeled in line with Research Park at IIT Madras and launch Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) with Self –Employment and Talent Utilization (SETU) program of NITI Aayog, among others. Besides to promote traditional rural-based industries under Make in India, government plans to implement schemes like Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) for setting up of new micro-enterprises and generate employment opportunities in rural and urban areas through Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries(SFURTI), Scheme for Promoting Innovation, Rural Industry and Entrepreneurship (ASPIRE), among others. It is noteworthy that there has been a good response to the government’s move to promote start-ups belonging to various sectors, ranging from tech-startups to rural entities. Most of the States, irrespective of their current development status, have also benefited by the Make in India scheme. Little known towns are now boasting technology related start-ups. Small towns like Motihari in Bihar, Raipur in Madhya Pradesh and Solan in Himachal Pradesh are in the news as these towns have now mapped onto the technology map of India. The unprecedented response has seen states like Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Himachal Pradesh, create 800 technology hubs in their towns, giving a major boost to the initiative.
March 15, 2016 | 03:40pm IST
to success.