Government's "Startup Action Plan" being reviewed

The Startup Action Plan launched by the government is now under review to assess if it is moving in the right direction. This plan has been undertaken by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion ( DIPP) which is collating the progress made and will share its report with NITI Aayog. Two meeting have already been held by DIPP officials to take stock of the steps undertaken so far.

In order to create a conducive environment for startups DIPP recently revised the patent rules. A group of 280 experts, including lawyers and consultants has been formed in order to assist startups in filing their patent applications.

These rules will now expedite the services for patent registration and also include the clear definition of 'startup' for passing on the special benefits. Government is also undertaking the task of mapping the incubation centres across the country in order to ascertain state-wise capacities of incubation and spread the startup movement in tier-II and III cities, and focus especially on the north eastern states.

It is overwhelming to know that under the Startup Action Plan, the government has identified 93 research proposals by Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) for their innovation potential or possible impact on industry. The proposals have been selected on the basis of their relevance for the industry and businesses.

The DIPP is said to act as a facilitator between the IITs and the industry in taking forward these research proposals. Proposals for the same were considered under the Ucchattar Avishkar Yojana by the ministries of human resource development (HRD) and science and technology, and the DIPP as part of the Startup Action Plan.

A government official said,"one of the main objectives of the programme is to promote research and innovation among the young students." The government has earmarked Rs 250 crore per annum towards fostering "very high quality" research among IIT students. Half of this funding will be contributed by the HRD ministry, 25% by the science and technology ministry and 25% by the DIPP.

The latest news being the launch of a "startup hub" by DIPP along with the startup portal and mobile app to provide a single-point contact for the entire startup ecosystem. Apparently, the portal will enable startups to avail all the tax benefits announced in the Startup Action Plan. Incentives announced include a tax holiday and 'inspector rajfree' regime for three years, capital gains tax exemption and Rs 10,000 crore corpus for funding of startups.