Lok Sabha Question No. 870 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-02-07
Subject: Start-Ups in North-Eastern States
Ministry: DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH EASTERN REGION
Asked by: Satyadev Pachauri

## Government of India

## Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 870

To be answered on

Monday, February 7, 2022/Magha 18, 1943 (Saka)

## QUESTION

## Start-Ups in North-Eastern States

†870.  SHRI SATYADEV PACHAURI:

Will the Minister of DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH EASTERN REGION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  North-Eastern  States  are  becoming  a  hub  for  Start-ups  and  the Government is working at various levels to improve air, rail and road connectivity in the said States and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has started call centres for Start-ups so that the youth can also participate in policy making by sharing their ideas and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the funds allocated by the Government for the development of North-East along with the details of works for which the said allocation has been made;
- (d) the  number  of  students  who  have  applied  for  Start-ups  in  the  North-Eastern States including the number of students who have got approval; and
- (e) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to make North-East an industrial hub so as to provide employment opportunities to the people in this region?

## ANSWER

## The Minister of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region [Shri G. Kishan Reddy]

- (a) Yes, Sir.  In the recent past various stakeholders in the Start-up eco-system such as incubators, accelerators and other venture funds have emerged in the North Eastern Region  (NER),  leading  to  a  large  number  of  Start-ups.    As  on  31 st   January,  2022, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has recognized 674

Start-ups  from  States  of  NER  comprising  of  Arunachal  Pradesh  (8),  Assam  (499), Manipur (68), Meghalaya (17), Mizoram (6), Nagaland (21), Sikkim (8), and Tripura (47).

Besides, North East Development Finance Corporation Ltd.  has released a total of Rs. 41.14 crore to 22 Start-ups till date through North East Venture Fund (NEVF) and a total of 36 proposals have received in principle commitment of Rs. 74.76 crore.

Government  has  taken  various  important  initiatives  for  improving  air,  rail  and road  connectivity  thereby  accelerating  the  development  of  the  NER.  A  summary  of these initiatives is given in Annexure I.

- (b) To  cater  to  queries  related  to  Start-up  India  initiative  by  aspiring  and  existing entrepreneurs, Start-up India operates a toll free number 1800115565.
- (c) Several initiatives have been undertaken by the Government for the development of  NER  on  a  large  scale  since  2014-15.    As  per  the  extant  guidelines,  all  54  nonexempted Central Ministries/Departments are mandated to spend atleast 10% of their Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) for Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored Schemes in NER. The details of the Budget Estimates (BE), Revised Estimates (RE) and Actual Expenditure during the period from 2014-15 to 2022-23 in relation to 10% GBS in the NE States is given in Table below.
- (d) As per the notification GSR. 127 (E) issued by DPIIT dated 19th February 2019, an entity is considered as a Start-up:
- i. Upto  a  period  of  ten  years  from  the  date  of  incorporation/  registration,  if  it  is incorporated  as  a  private  limited  company  (as  defined  in  the  Companies  Act, 2013)  or  registered  as  a  partnership  firm  (registered  under  section  59  of  the Partnership Act, 1932) or a limited liability partnership (under the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008) in India.
- ii. Turnover  of  the  entity for any  of the financial years  since  incorporation/ registration has not exceeded one hundred crore rupees.
- iii. Entity is working towards innovation, development or improvement of products or processes or services, or if it is a scalable business model with a high potential of employment generation or wealth creation.

| Budget Estimates (BE), Revised Estimates (RE) and Actual Expenditure under 10%GBS (Rs. in crore)   | Budget Estimates (BE), Revised Estimates (RE) and Actual Expenditure under 10%GBS (Rs. in crore)   | Budget Estimates (BE), Revised Estimates (RE) and Actual Expenditure under 10%GBS (Rs. in crore)   | Budget Estimates (BE), Revised Estimates (RE) and Actual Expenditure under 10%GBS (Rs. in crore)   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Year                                                                                               | Budget Estimates                                                                                   | Revised Estimates                                                                                  | Actual Expenditure                                                                                 |
| 36,107.56                                                                                          |                                                                                                    | 27,359.17                                                                                          | 2014-15 24,819.18                                                                                  |
| 29,087.93                                                                                          |                                                                                                    | 29,669.22                                                                                          | 2015-16 28,673.73                                                                                  |
|                                                                                                    | 29,124.79                                                                                          | 32,180.08                                                                                          | 2016-17 29,367.90                                                                                  |
| 2017-18                                                                                            | 43,244.64                                                                                          | 40,971.69                                                                                          | 39,753.44                                                                                          |
|                                                                                                    | 47,994.88                                                                                          | 47,087.95                                                                                          | 2018-19 46,054.80                                                                                  |
| 2019-20                                                                                            | 59,369.90                                                                                          | 53,374.19                                                                                          | 48,533.80                                                                                          |
| 2020-21                                                                                            | 60,112.11                                                                                          | 51,270.90                                                                                          | 48,563.82                                                                                          |
| 2021-22                                                                                            | 68,020.24                                                                                          | 68,440.26                                                                                          | 38,456.00*                                                                                         |
| 2022-23                                                                                            | 76,040.07                                                                                          |                                                                                                    |                                                                                                    |

Source : Statement 11/23 of the Union Budget, various years

Note : Actual Expenditure figures are provisional and subject to vetting by Ministry of

Finance.

* Upto 31.12.2021, as reported by 54 Non-exempted Ministries/Departments

There  is  no  bar  regarding  occupation  of  the  director/partner  for  applying  for recognition. Hence, no data about the number of students who have applied for Startups is being captured.

- (e) The North East  Industrial  Development  Scheme  (NEIDS),  2017  has  come  into force  with  effect  from  01.04.2017  for  a  period  of  five  years.  The  scheme  covers manufacturing and service sector of all the States of NER. Various benefits provided under the scheme include: (i) Central Capital Investment Incentive for access to credit; (ii)  Central  Interest  Incentive;  (iii)  Central  Comprehensive  Insurance  Incentive;  (iv) Income  Tax  Reimbursement;  (v)  Goods  and  Services  Tax  Reimbursement;  (vi) Employment Incentive; and (vii) Transport Incentive. There is an overall cap of Rs.200 crore per unit for benefits under all components of the Scheme.Till end-October 2021, a total  of  391  new  industrial  units  with  proposed  total  investment  of  Rs.2,631.19  crore have been granted registration under NEIDS. The total incentive envisaged for these industrial units amounts to Rs.1,740.06 crore.

Besides, industrialization and employment in the NER is being promoted through expenditure  under  10%  Gross  Budgetary  Support  by  54  non-exempt  Ministries/ Departments, including the schemes being implemented by Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region and North Eastern Council.

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## Annexure  I  to  Part  (a)  of  the  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred  Question  No.  870  dated 07.02.2022 regarding Start-Ups in North-Eastern States

-  Air  connectivity :    Ongoing  development  of  new  Greenfield  Airports  at  Holongi and  Tezu  in  Arunachal  Pradesh;  Dibrugarh,  Guwahati  and  Silchar  Airports  in Assam;  Imphal  Airport  in  Manipur;  Barapani  Airport  in  Meghalaya  and  Agartala Airport in Tripura, etc. In January, 2022, the Prime Minister inaugurated the New Integrated Terminal Building at Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in Agartala .
-  Rail  connectivity :    Presently,  20  projects,  for  new  lines  as  well  as  doubling, costing  Rs.74,485 crore for 2,011 km length falling fully/partly in North Eastern Region are at different stages of planning/ approval/ execution, out of which 321 km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of Rs.26,874 crore incurred upto March, 2021.
-  Road  Connectivity :    Major  ongoing  Capital  Road  Connectivity  projects  in  NER include  4  Laning  of  Dimapur-Kohima  Road  (62.9  km)  in  Nagaland;  4  laning  of Nagaon  bypass  to  Holongi  (167  km)  in  Arunachal  Pradesh;  Alternate  two-lane Highway from Bagrakote to Pakyong (NH-717A) (152 km) in Sikkim; 2 laning of Aizawl - Tuipang NH-54 (351 km) in Mizoram; 4 laning of Imphal - Moreh section of NH-39 (20 km) and 2-laning of 75.4 km in Manipur.  The cost of on-going road works in the North East Region is Rs.79,953.39 crore.
-  In  addition,  Ministry  of  Development  of  North  Eastern  Region  is  implementing various  social  and  infrastructure  schemes  for  the  development  of  North  Eastern Region.    Under  the  erstwhile  Non-Lapsable  Central  Pool  Resources  (NLCPR) scheme, 1653 projects worth Rs. 16,233.78 crore were sanctioned, out of which 1,204 projects worth Rs. 9,557.20 crore have been completed, while 431 projects worth Rs. 6,676.59 crore are being funded till their completion.  Under North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS), for enhancing connectivity of NER, 110 projects worth Rs. 2,563.14 crore have been sanctioned and are at various stages of completion.
-  NEC has also sanctioned 21 nos. of projects costing Rs. 1318.22 crore during the last  5  years  under  Schemes  of  NEC  and  North  East  Road  Sector  Development Scheme (NERSDS).  These projects are at various levels of implementation.

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