Lok Sabha Question No. 4968 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-26
Subject: Promotion of SC/ST/Women Entrepreneurs
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: VINOD KUMAR SONKAR, KAMLA DEVI PATLE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

## DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL POLICY & PROMOTION

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4968. TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY, THE 26 TH  MARCH, 2018.

## PROMOTION OF SC/ST/WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

## 4968.  SHRI VINOD KUMAR SONKAR: SHRIMATI KAMLA DEVI PATLE:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY be pleased to state:

## वाणिज् यवव द्योग म त्री

- (a) whether the Government has set a target of providing financial assistance to Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) and women entrepreneurs under the  Startup  India  Programme  through  125  lakh  bank  branches  across  the country and if so, the details thereof including the names of branches which have  achieved  this  target  along  with  those  which  have  not  achieved  this target, bank-wise;
- (b) the  number  of  districts  across  the  country  where  Startup  India  Programme has been launched, district-wise;
- (c) whether the Government is reviewing the 'Startup India' scheme and if so, the details  of  the  number of  bank  branches  not evincing  interest  in  the  scheme along with the corrective action taken against them; and
- (d) the  time  by  which  the  target  of  producing  SC/ST  women  entrepreneurs  is likely to be achieved by the Government?

## ANSWER

## वाणिज् यवव द्योग म त्रालयमेंराज् यम त्री(श्री सी.आर.चौधरी) THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRI C.R. CHAUDHARY)

- (a): The benefits under the Startup India initiative are available to all entrepreneurs  belonging  to  any  caste,  community  and  gender  (including schedule caste/ schedule tribe and women entrepreneurs). Currently, there is no  scheme  under  the  Startup  India  initiative  that  is  administered  through banks.

Further, The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment is implementing  Venture  Capital  Fund  for  Scheduled  Castes  in  order  to promote entrepreneurship and others among the target population through the Industrial  Financial  Corporation  of  India  Venture  Capital  Fund  for Scheduled  Castes.  Till  date,  an  amount  of  Rs.240.04  crore  has  been sanctioned among 66 companies owned by SC Entrepreneurs whereas an amount of Rs.168.40 crore has been disbursed to 52 companies under the fund. The State wise number of companies' sanctioned financial assistance till so far is provided at Annexure-I.

- (b): Startup India supports entrepreneurs from all districts across the country. In order to avail benefits under the initiative, entrepreneurs from any district may apply on www.startupindia.gov.infor recognition of their Startup.
- (c): Department  of  Industrial  Policy  and  Promotion  (DIPP)  has  constituted  a formal mechanism to review the Startup India initiative on a regular basis. A Monitoring  Committee chaired by Secretary,  DIPP has been constituted for effective monitoring of the implementation of the Action Plan of Startup India initiative. The Monitoring Committee comprises Secretary, DIPP, CEO/Representative from NITI Aayog, Secretary/Representative from Department of  Revenue,  Ministry  of  Micro,  Small  and  Medium  Enterprises, Department of Science and Technology (DST), Department of BioTechnology  (DBT),  Department  of  Electronics  and  Information  Technology (Ministry of Communication & Information Technology), Department of Higher Education (Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD)), and CMD from Small Industries Development Board of India (SIDBI).

Further,  as  a  constant  endeavour  to  facilitate  the  Startup  ecosystem, Department  of  Industrial  Policy  and  Promotion  (DIPP)  holds  extensive consultations with stakeholders. In various consultations, following concerns were highlighted -

1.  Startups were required to submit a Letter of Recommendation (LoR) from organizations such as incubators/ industry associations which often led to undue  expenditure  and  delay  for  Startups.  This  discouraged  a  large number of entities from applying under the programme.
2.  Taking into account the long gestation period required by Startups to get established, the period of 5 years as provided in the definition of Startups was too short. Further Startups in bio  -technology sector require longer gestation period as compared to others.

In order to address the above concerns, following corrective measures have been taken:

1.  The requirement of Letter of Recommendation from an incubator/industry association has been done away with both for the purpose of recognition as well as for availing certificate of eligibility for obtaining tax benefits.
2.  In order to further promote entrepreneurship in the country, the definition of  a  Startup  has  been  modified  on  23rd  May,  2017.  It  has  been broadened  to  include  scalability  of  business  model  along  with  a  high potential  of  employment  generation  or  wealth  creation.  As  per  the  new

definition, an entity is considered as a Startup up to seven years from the date of its  incorporation  (from  earlier  5  years).  However,  in  the  case  of Startups in the Biotechnology sector, the period is up to ten years from the date of incorporation.

No scheme of Startup India programme is being implemented through banks.

- (d): Startup  India  is  an  ongoing  initiative  and  targets  to  support  entrepreneurs (including SC/ST and women entrepreneurs) on a continuous basis.

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ANNEXURE-I

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4968 FOR ANSWER ON 26.03.2018.

State/UT-wise  number  of  Companies  owned  by  SC  entrepreneurs  who  have been sanctioned financial assistance under Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes (VCF-SC)

| STATES            |   No's of Companies (owned by SC entrepreneurs) sanctioned Financial Assistance till date |
|-------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Punjab            |                                                                                         4 |
| Gujarat           |                                                                                         3 |
| Maharashtra       |                                                                                        19 |
| Delhi NCR         |                                                                                         3 |
| Telangana         |                                                                                        10 |
| Andhra Pradesh    |                                                                                         6 |
| Uttar Pradesh     |                                                                                         5 |
| Tamil Nadu        |                                                                                         4 |
| Karnataka         |                                                                                         3 |
| Pondicherry       |                                                                                         2 |
| West Bengal       |                                                                                         2 |
| Assam -North East |                                                                                         1 |
| Haryana           |                                                                                         1 |
| Chattisgarh       |                                                                                         1 |
| Himachal Pradesh  |                                                                                         1 |
| Bihar             |                                                                                         1 |
| TOTAL             |                                                                                        66 |

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