In its initiative to improve ease of doing business, especially for startups, the government of India has recognized over 250 incubators that provide recommendation for start-ups to get various benefits, and is also launching a module to increase the existing list of incubators.
To take benefits under the start-up policy an entity needs to apply to the government to be recognized as a start-up, and one of the documents required for this is a recommendation letter from a government-recognized incubator. So the number of incubators has to be increased substantially. The government has roped in IITs, IIMs and other established institutes to do this job.
Highlighting the current strength of India’s startup ecosystem, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that around 4,400 technology startups exist in India and the number is expected to reach 12,000 by 2020, driven by a young and diverse entrepreneurial ecosystem. Further the minister added that 7 proposals for research parks, 16 proposals for technology business incubators and 13 proposals for start-up centres have been recommended by the National Expert Advisory Committee formed by the ministry of human resources, which will be implemented in the current financial year to boost the start-up eco-system. The minister added that the DIPP has written to top 50 companies and requesting them to support the initiative under their CSR activities by setting up new incubators or scale up existing incubators in collaboration with educational institutes.
As per the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) data, of the 571 applications received as on June 30 for availing of benefits under the scheme, only 106 of these had the required documents. And just 12 applications could be considered for tax benefits as only these start-ups were incorporated after April 1, 2016, as stipulated under the scheme.
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