Start-up India: Govt vows to boost ecosystem by easier access to funds, technology

The start-up India initiative shows commendable progress with 19,351 startups already recognised by the government, said a Commerce ministry tweet, adding "We are committed to further boost the start-up ecosystem by reducing regulatory burden and providing easier access to funds & technology."

Notably, Start-up India initiative, launched on 16th January 2016, comprises 19 action points that act as a guiding document for the initiative. Since its inception, as many as 19,351 startups across the country have been recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) till June 24, 2019. 

According to the ministry statement, the government has established Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) with corpus of Rs 10,000 crore, to meet the funding needs of startups under the monitoring of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), which is also the operating agency for FFS. 

"The total corpus of Rs 10,000 crore is envisaged to be provided over the 14th and 15th Finance Commission cycles based on progress of the scheme and availability of funds. SIDBI has committed Rs 3123.20 crore to 49 SEBI registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs)," it said, adding that these funds have raised a corpus fund of Rs 27,478 crore, and of this, Rs 483.46 crore have been drawn. The AIFs have invested a total of Rs 1,625.73 crore into 247 startups, it added.
 
Notably, a total of 26 states have notified and operational startup policies. 

Key features of Startup India action plan are given below: 

1. Compliance Regime based on Self-Certification with an objective to reduce the regulatory burden on Startups thereby allowing them to focus on their core business and keep compliance cost low.

2. Startup India Hub with an objective to create a single point of contact for the entire Startup ecosystem and enable knowledge exchange and access to funding.

3. Rolling out of Mobile App and Portal with an objective to serve as the single platform for Startups for interacting with Government and Regulatory Institutions for all business needs and information exchange among various stakeholders.

4. Legal support and Fast-tracking Patent Examination at lower costs with an objective to promote awareness and adoption of IPRs by Startups and facilitate them in protecting and commercializing the IPRs by providing access to high quality Intellectual Property services and resources, including fast-track examination of patent applications and rebate in fees.

5. Relaxed Norms of Public Procurement for Startups with an objective to provide an equal platform to Startups across sectors vis-à-vis the experienced entrepreneurs/ companies in public procurement.

6. Faster Exit for Startups with an objective to make it easier for Startups to wind up operations.

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7. Providing Funding Support through Fund of Funds with a Corpus of Rs 10,000 crore with an objective to provide funding support for development and growth of innovation driven enterprises.

8. Credit Guarantee fund for Startups with objective to catalyze entrepreneurship by providing credit to innovators across all sections of society.

9. Tax Exemptions on Capital Gains with an objective to promote investments into Startups by mobilizing the capital gains arising from sale of capital assets.

10. Tax Exemptions to startups for 3 years with an objective to promote the growth of Startups and address working capital requirements.