Ready for Rollout
- PM is expected to provide clear definition of startup and reduce compliance requirement for them.
- DIPP spearheaded the blueprint but the PMO coordinated efforts between a dozen govt departments.
- Recommendations received from industry bodies like FICCI, NASSCOM etc.
- Consultations held with top entrepreneurs like SoftBank president Nikesh Arora, Snapdeal CEO Kunal Bahl, Oyo Rooms founder Ritesh Agarwal and former Infosys director Mohandas Pai.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said 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.
“Start-Up India will change conventions. Government will merely be a facilitator for start-ups,” the finance minister told the inaugural session of the day-long event here which will will see the prime minister formally unveil the scheme later in the evening.
“We ostensibly broke away from the license raj in 1991, conceived with idea that government will decide which businesses can run,” said Jaitley. “Our effort in last few years has been to restrict role of the state in policy domain,” he said, assuring Start-Up India scheme will follow that path.
Earlier in the day, the prime minister said he looked forward to the formal launch.
The government’s “Start-Up India” initiative along with a “Start-Up Action Plan” will be launched in New Delhi by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, an official statement said.
PMO ReleaseThe launch event is aimed at celebrating the entrepreneurship spirit of country’s youth and will be attended by CEOs and founders of top start-ups from across the country and abroad.
The programme is aimed at promoting financing for start-ups and give incentives to boost entrepreneurship.
The top issues the startup plan is expected to address include:
- Delays in incorporating and shutting down a firm
- Liberalisation of Labour Laws
- Easing flow of early-stage capital
Modi will release the Start-Up Action Plan, visit a virtual exhibition and interact with start-up entrepreneurs at the event, the statement said.
In a session called “Face-to-face with policy-makers”, secretaries of ministries and departments concerned will respond to queries on how an enabling ecosystem for start-ups could be created, it added.
“The objective is to reinforce commitment of the government towards creating an ecosystem that is conducive for growth of start-ups,” the PMO said.
The event will also feature interactive sessions with global corporate leaders and venture capitalists like SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son and WeWork founder Adam Nuemann.
The event will be telecast live in IITs, IIMs, NITs, IIITs and central universities and to youth groups in over 350 districts of India.
Meanwhile at an industry chamber FICCI organised discussion on Friday about the new startup policy, participants said the time was ripe for India to unveil its policy to encourage startups, FICCI said in a statement.
Minister-Counselor at the US Embassy in New Delhi George Sibley said at the event that the present regulatory framework in India did not offer much scope for entrepreneurship.
“However, it was expected that the proposed policy would provide access to capital and a complementary IPR (intellectual property rights) regime, which would allow entrepreneurs to grow and prosper,” FICCI said citing the American diplomat.
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