Speaking at the launch of the ambitious Start-up India campaign, Modi said, “Start-ups are not just because of entrepreneurial capabilities, but also for the aspect of risk-taking. This start-up movement is not linked to money or name and fame. It is about finding solutions to the problems of common people. Start-ups don’t have to be billion dollar ventures. Even if it employs five people, it is contributing to the Indian economy. We want to focus on hand holding for start-ups.”
According to Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister, the new Start-Up India scheme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to promote and nurse entrepreneurship will ensure minimum interference from the government with attractive tax incentives.
Speaking on the event, Jaitely said, “Start-Up India will change conventions. Government will merely be a facilitator for start-ups. We ostensibly broke away from the license raj in 1991, conceived with idea that the government will decide which businesses can run. Our effort in last few years has been to restrict role of the state in policy domain,” assuring Start-Up India scheme will follow that path.
The Star-up India Action Plan is aimed at acting as a facilitator to start-ups by ensuring a friendlier regulatory regime, easier capital availability and quicker exit norms through a bankruptcy code.
Speaking at the event, Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister, said, “Our intention is not to come down heavily as government, but only to facilitate. How to remove the clutter so that the core business work can be attended to is our aim. It isn’t jugaad. The government looks forward to engaging with entrepreneurs to remove all the burdensome regulations for start-ups”.
The highlights
Modi announced a three-year income tax holiday for start-ups and exemption of capital gains tax for venture capital investments in them, as part of a host of incentives to promote new enterprises in the country.
He also announced self-certification and three-year exemption from inspections, an online portal and mobile app, an 80-percent cut in the patent application fee, a single-point hub for hand-holding, equal opportunities in government procurement and a Rs.10,000-crore dedicated fund for start-ups.
No inspection of start-ups for three years on labour and environment law compliance post-self-certification and there will be no interference from government. Credit guarantee scheme will be introduced for start-ups in next 4 years; funds of around 500 crores will be given every year.
The patent fees for start-ups will be cut by 80 present to support and protect intellectual property rights of new entrepreneurs. He also said start-ups will be helped through facilitation centres by lawyers to file patents without any charges. Delays in patent approvals, he added, need to be reduced.
He also unveiled that a mobile app will be launched to register start-up in a day and Atal Innovation Mission to give impetus to innovation and encourage talent.
The list of incentives also included 35 new incubators under the public-private partnership mode, 31 new innovation centres at national institutes, seven new research parks, five bio-clusters and a mission with sector-specific incubators, labs, pre-incubation training and seed money.
