In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Start-up India Movement. This initiative is an action plan launched with the intention of boosting grassroots entrepreneurship.
In the Prime Minister’s statement at the time, he said it is “aimed at celebrating the entrepreneurship spirit of country’s youth”.
The programme itself promotes bank financing for start-ups and provides incentives for those who are building on their ideas and also creating jobs.
What did the premise of the Movement involve?
Although it’s been a year since the Movement launched, let’s refresh our memories and take a look at some of its main points. Incentives for startups included:
- Self-certification compliance.
- No inspection or income tax for the first three years.
- A mobile app for easy registration for start-ups.
- A single point contact via the Start-up India hub.
- Capital gains tax exemption.
- 80% rebate on filing fees.
- Access to tinkering labs, incubators, innovation centres, bio-clusters and research parks.
- A dedicated fund of Rs. 10,000 crore to promote start-ups.
How does the Start-up India Movement affect us in 2017?
Although the Start-up India Movement was launched last year, it is still in place to improve the situation for start-ups in 2017 and beyond too.
From the Start-up India Govt. website, you can see that the action plan is still in progress and gaining more traction every day. The latest part of it to be added (as indicated by the ‘new’ icons) are learning and development along with self-certification, showing that the incentives that were promised are starting to come into effect. Some already have!
If you visit the Start-up India website, you can see that applications are currently being taken for Startup India Fellowships – an opportunity that’s suited to any up and comers who are enthusiastic about entrepreneurship. This is a 4-week intensive program that teaches the basics of entrepreneurship, social impact, design thinking and the ‘triple bottom line’: people, planet and profits.
You’ll also see that the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Centre (in partnership with Start-up India Advisory Services, has launched ‘Milestone Makers India’ – an initiative that provides mentoring, training and resources for business founders to help them reach their goals – completely free of charge.
It’s ongoing initiatives like this that make India a great place for entrepreneurs and new start-up businesses hoping to have a bright future. You can also see the impact the initiative is already having by tracking the #startupindia hashtag on social media.
If you want to learn more about the Start-up India Movement, your first ports of call should be startupindia.gov.in where you’ll find everything the initiative is doing for entrepreneurs.
What are your thoughts on the Start-up India Movement? Do you know of any businesses that have benefited from it so far? Or perhaps you even plan on applying for a Fellowship yourself! Share your plans, ideas and experiences in the comments section below.
