THE long-cherished dream of the Government of India to have registered start-ups in each of the 785 districts across the country might be fulfilled very soon. Sanjiv Singh, Joint Secretary at the Department for Promotion of Industries and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and head of the Startup India initiative, said more than 99 per cent of the total districts in the country have registered start-ups. “We are hopeful of registering start-ups in the remaining districts in coming days,” he said while interacting with the media persons at Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Nagpur on Sunday. Dr Bhimaraya Metri, Director of IIM Nagpur; Amitabh Khanna, President of Vidarbha Association of Software Exporters; Tanveer Mirza, Nagpur First India Chair and mentor to InFed; and Shashikant Chaudhary, serial entrepreneur were also present. Even as India has emerged as the third largest ecosystem for startups globally with over 1,12,000 DPIIT-recognised startups, there are a few districts where not even a single such unit is functioning. Till last year, more than 100 districts in the country had no DPIIT-recognised startups. “Government realises the economic importance of a startup and thus we wish to see it all over the country.

 

The DPIIT is also planning to further increase the presence of startups from district level to block level in coming days,” he said. “Previously, entrepreneurship was primarily associated with specific communities. However, there has been a significant shift in mindset, and we have witnessed remarkable growth in startups across tier 2 and 3 cities,” Singh said, highlighting that Nagpur district has 1,209 DPIIT-recognised startups. Once registered with DPIIT, the start-up may avail many benefits like funding and loan without collateral security. The DPIIT recognised startups can apply for Angel Tax Exemption. After obtaining the clearance for tax exemption, the DPIIT recognised start-ups are also exempted from Income Tax for a period of three consecutive fiscal years.

 

The Government has also reduced the compliance burden for a start-up. The recognised startup is eligible to claim a rebate of 80 percent of patent fees bid for Government contracts with fewer eligibility requirements. A private limited company, partnership firm, or limited liability partnership firm not more than 10 years old with its annual turnover less than Rs 100 crore can be called as start-up. Further, the company must be working on improving or innovating products, services, or processes and must not have been formed by reconstructing or splitting up an existing business. Apart from this, Sanjiv Singh also spoke about the newly launched platform called ‘BHASKAR’. “The initiative has been designed to foster a dynamic and inclusive environment for innovation and entrepreneurship. It will bring together a diverse array of stakeholders - ranging from entrepreneurs and Government bodies to investors and academic institutions - onto a single, integrated platform. The vision behind BHASKAR is to foster collaboration and accelerate growth and cross-collaboration within the entrepreneurial community” he added.