Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Start-up Action Plan gets a thumbs up for its stated goals, but the jury is still out as the fine print is being read
Live long and prosper! This iconic line from Star Trek — for reasons unknown, but in hindsight apt— was used to sign off from the Start-up India event held in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on January 16. The government sponsored one-day conclave ironically didn't have India’s top billionaires mark attendance. A point that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitely were cognisant of.
“It’s probably the first time I see a large number of potential entrepreneurs here most of whom, at least I must confess, I’m not familiar with. Otherwise, at all these formal launches we always have the usual suspects,” said Jaitely in his speech at Start-up India.
The Action Plan It attacks most of the pain points that startup entrepreneurs faced in India Compliance regime based on self certification: Startups get to self-certify themselves through a mobile app with regards to labour and environment laws. Startup India Hub: A single point of contact for the startup community. Mobile app and portal: Platform for information exchange between startups, the government and various regulatory bodies. It will allow startups to register in one-day. Legal support and fast-tracking patent applications: Patents filed by startups to be given priority. Startups entitled to 80 percent rebate in filing patents as compared to other companies. Faster Exit: To make it easier for startups to wind up operations in 90 days. Tax exemption from capital gains: To promote investments into startups, investors will be exempt from tax on capital gains. Income tax on profits: Startups get an exemption for a period of three years. Fund of Funds: With a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore the government sponsored fund will support startups. LIC to co-fund this initiative. Credit Guarantee Fund for startups: To catalyse entrepreneurship by providing credit to innovators across all sections of society. The credit guarantee comfort would also help the flow of venture debt from the formal banking system. Relaxed procurement norms: In regards to public procurement startups (especially in the manufacturing sector) get an level playing field with experienced companies. Setting up of 35 new incubators: These incubators will be setup at educational institutions across the country through public private partnership. Organising startup fests: To encourage innovation and provide startups national and international visibility. Setting up of seven new research parks: These will be modeled on the lines of the research park at IIT Madras. |