Looks like Prime Minister initiative Startup India is on the right track. Bihar Government has sanctioned Rs.500 Crore ($76 Million) of funding for the State Startups to promote young entrepreneurship in the state. The startup policy aims to cater to the needs of emerging entrepreneurs and make Bihar a startup destination in India.
The funds were released by Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar at the 4th Bihar Entrepreneurship Summit (BES), organised by Bihar Entrepreneurs Association, on March 21. The startup policy was introduced back in 2016 but was repealed due to some incorporate changes.
The Chief Minister addressed: We have given the youth and entrepreneurs a revised startup policy, and set up a Rs 500-crore fund to encourage and facilitate entrepreneurship.’ He also asked the shortlisting committee to keep the funding more communicative so that there would be complete transparency in the process.
The policy is defined in four different stages and named it ‘YUVA’
- Y – Yes to Startups.
- U – Unleashing regulatory enablers for supporting startups.
- V – Vibrancy in the education system to encourage and facilitate startups.
- A – Access to financing and incubation support.
Every startup will get an initial corpus of Rs. 10 Lakhs as an assistant amount which will be interest-free for next 10 years. The entrepreneur will contribute five percent of this financial assistance. The policy will facilitate access to angel investors and provide free of cost valuation for startups.
Jai Kumar Singh, Minister of Industries, Bihar said “We decided upon the startup policy in 2016, and in 2017 we implemented it too. We have given it much thought, taken expert advice and then brought out this policy because we want our youth to have the very best. Our generation used to go looking for a job, but today we want the youth to be their own boss. It is a challenge that we want our youth to accept.”
Other states like Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Rajasthan have already started their startup policies. Recently, the Government of Odisha has signed MoU with Invest India in order to encourage startups and young entrepreneurs of the state.
The policy would be in effect for the next five years. Under the policy, entrepreneurs belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and also physically challenged entrepreneurs would be given 15 percent additional financial support, while women entrepreneurs would get 5 per cent additional financial support. The 22 percent of the venture capital fund had been reserved for entrepreneurs from SCs and STs.
With the support of State Government, Indian Startups will get the required amount of boost to showcase themselves to the world and make India the No.1 country for startups. Read more about Indian Startup Ecosystem.
Source: INDIAN CEO
