This article is written by Aashish Ahuja, a student of University Institute of Legal Studies, Shimla.
What is Start Up India, Stand Up campaign?
Start Up India, Stand Up India is a scheme launched by the Modi Government on 16th January 2016. This campaign has been planned to bring new opportunities to the youth of the country. It has given a great platform for the startups to engage the industry leaders and successful entrepreneurs to come together and drive the spirit of entrepreneurship forward in the country. Prime Minister, Narendra Modi addressed the nation about it on the occasion of 69th Independence day i.e. 15th August from the Red Fort. It was organized by Department of Industrial Policy and Programmes (DIPP).
The event was inaugurated by Shri Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs.
Aim of the program
Start Up India, Stand Up India campaign has aimed to bring new opportunities to the youth of the country whether it is manufacturing, agriculture or service sector. This program focuses to assist people to start new business ventures, especially those that are involved in innovation.
Startup India Investment Plans
- A Rs.10,000 crore fund for startups
The government will set up a fund with a principal amount of Rs.2,500 crore and a total amount of Rs.10,000 crore will be funded over a period of 4 years, which will be managed by a board of private professionals drawn from industries, academia and successful startups. The fund will participate in the capital of SEBI registered venture funds and will be invested in agriculture, education, health and manufacturing sector.
- A single point for registration of startups
The government will launch an application and a portal on 1st April which will enable the startups to register in a day. The portal will serve as a single point of contact for clearances, approvals, and for the companies to apply for the schemes under Startup India Action Plan.
- Self-Certification
The government will allow the startups to self-certify themselves in compliance with nine labour and environment laws. This can be done through the startup app. There will be no inspections on labour laws for a period of three years.
- Filing patent applications
The Central government will bear the cost of patents, trademarks and designs of a startup. Patent fee will be reduced by 80%.
- Tax exemption for three years
The startups will be exempted from the tax for a period of three years to facilitate the growth.
- Credit Guarantee Funds for startups
A credit guarantee mechanism will help the startups to raise the debts funding through the formal banking system through National Credit Guarantee Trust Company.
- Startup India Hub
It is a sole point that will be created for the startup ecosystem so that there can be exchange of knowledge and access to funds.
- Launch of Atal Innovation Scheme
Atal Innovation Scheme will b launched to give force to the innovation and encourage the talent among the people.
- Setting up of 7 new research parks
The government will set up 7 new research parks.(Six research parks in IITs and one in IISc)
- Innovation focused programmes for students
There will Innovation core programmes in five lakh schools. This programme will aim to source 10 lakh innovations from five lakh schools out of which only 100 will be shortlisted and showcased at the Annual Festival of Innovations, held at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
What are the problems which this scheme seeks to address?
A startup is an entity which has been headquartered in India and has been incorporated less than 5 years ago. This scheme basically seeks to address two basic problems:
- Ease of doing business: India is ranked 130th in ease of doing business by World Bank. This is due to a lot of compliances, red-tapism and lack of infrastructure. In order to increase the ease of doing business, people generally shift their business to foreign countries. For instance, Flipkart, having its headquarters at Bangalore but registered at
- Funding: Most of the funding of Indian startups comes from foreign venture capitalists. For instance, ola cab had funding from the foreign venture capitalists.
Sources
http://dipp.nic.in/English/Investor/startupIndia/StartupIndia_ActionPlan_16January2016.pdf
http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/startup-india-plan-heres-what-you-need-to-know-295475.html
