Lok Sabha Question No. 5670 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-04-06
Subject: Promotion of Startups
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Vishnu Dutt Sharma

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT FOR PROMOTION OF INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5670. TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 6 TH  APRIL, 2022.

## PROMOTION OF STARTUPS

## 5670.  SHRI VISHNU DATT SHARMA:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

## वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री

- (a) whether  specific  efforts  are  being  made  to  promote  Startups,  specifically  in quantam key distribution, blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, data analytics and machine learning fields;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्रालय में राज्य मंत्री ( श्री सोम प्रकाश ) THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRI SOM PARKASH)

Startups and the entire innovation ecosystem are the engines of growth for any country. Recognizing this aspect, Government launched Startup India initiative on 16 th  January 2016 with an aim to build a stronger ecosystem for nurturing  India's  startup  culture  that  would  further  drive  our  economic growth,  support  entrepreneurship,  and  enable  large-scale  employment

- (a) & (b): opportunities.

Sustained Government efforts in this direction have resulted in increasing the number of recognized Startups from 726 in FY 2016-17 to 66,810 in FY 2021-22 (as on 28 th  March 2022).

There is at least one recognized startup from every State and UT and nearly 50% of the recognized startups are from Tier-II and III cities. Recognized startups are spread across over 640 districts and have reported creation of more than 7 lakh jobs.

Furthermore, DPIIT has recognized startups which are spread across 56 diversified  sectors.  More  than  4,500  Startups  have  been  recognized  in sectors relating to emerging technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, artificial intelligence, analytics, etc. Sector-wise number of startups recognized, is placed at Annexure-I .

The Government has also operationalized 26 Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in diverse areas of national interest for driving self- sufficiency and creating capabilities to capture new and emerging technology areas. These domain specific CoEs are being established pan India with the participation of the be pleased to state:

Central  Government,  Software  Technology  Parks  of  India  (STPI),  State Government(s), industry partnership and venture capital firms. These CoEs act as important enablers to promote innovation in emerging technologies.

In  addition  to  the  above,  the  various  measures  undertaken  by  the Government under Startup India initiative are at Annexure-II .

- (c): In view of the above, the question does not arise.

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## ANNEXURE-I

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) & (b) OF THE  LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5670 FOR ANSWER ON 06.04.2022.

## Sector wise number of recognized Startups as on 28 th  March 2022

| Sector                              |      |
|-------------------------------------|------|
| Advertising                         |  529 |
| Aeronautics Aerospace & Defence     |  585 |
| Agriculture                         | 3074 |
| AI                                  | 1323 |
| Airport Operations                  |    6 |
| Analytics                           |  537 |
| Animation                           |   67 |
| AR VR (Augmented + Virtual Reality) |  368 |
| Architecture Interior Design        |  369 |
| Art & Photography                   |  217 |
| Automotive                          | 1260 |
| Biotechnology                       |  139 |
| Chemicals                           |  519 |
| Computer Vision                     |  200 |
| Construction                        | 2337 |
| Dating Matrimonial                  |   54 |
| Design                              |  510 |
| Education                           | 4457 |
| Enterprise Software                 | 1329 |
| Events                              |  278 |
| Fashion                             |  801 |
| Finance Technology                  | 2094 |
| Food & Beverages                    | 3055 |
| Green Technology                    | 1582 |
| Healthcare & Lifesciences           | 6191 |
| House-Hold Services                 |  451 |
| Human Resources                     | 1268 |
| Indic Language Startups             |  166 |
| Internet of Things                  | 1229 |
| IT Services                         | 8374 |
| Logistics                           |  211 |
| Marketing                           | 1390 |
| Media & Entertainment               | 1069 |
| Nanotechnology                      |  114 |
| Non- Renewable Energy               | 1324 |
| Not Specified                       | 1297 |
| Other Specialty Retailers           |  468 |
| Others                              | 1373 |
| Passenger Experience                |    5 |
| Pets & Animals                      |  164 |

| Professional & Commercial Services   |   3331 |
|--------------------------------------|--------|
| Real Estate                          |    533 |
| Renewable Energy                     |   1775 |
| Retail                               |   1611 |
| Robotics                             |    390 |
| Safety                               |    209 |
| Security Solutions                   |    696 |
| Social Impact                        |    446 |
| Social Network                       |    536 |
| Sports                               |    326 |
| Technology Hardware                  |   2070 |
| Telecommunication & Networking       |    649 |
| Textiles & Apparel                   |    875 |
| Toys and Games                       |    103 |
| Transportation & Storage             |   1127 |
| Travel & Tourism                     |   1051 |
| Waste Management                     |    298 |
| Grand Total                          |  66810 |

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## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) & (b) OF THE  LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5670 FOR ANSWER ON 06.04.2022.

## Programs Launched under Startup India initiative

The details of various programs undertaken by the Government to promote startups across the country under Startup India Initiative are as under:

1. Startup India Action Plan :  An Action Plan for Startup India was unveiled on 16 th January 2016. The Action Plan comprises of 19 action items spanning across areas such  as  'Simplification  and  handholding',  'Funding  support  and  incentives'  and 'Industry-academia partnership and incubation'. The Action Plan laid the foundation of  Government  support,  schemes  and  incentives  envisaged  to  create  a  vibrant startup ecosystem in the country.
2. Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) Scheme : The Government has established FFS with corpus of Rs. 10,000 crore, to meet the funding needs of startups. DPIIT is the monitoring agency and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is the operating agency for FFS. The total corpus of Rs. 10,000 crore is envisaged to be provided over the 14th and 15th Finance Commission cycles based on progress of the scheme and availability of funds. It has not only made capital available for startups at early stage, seed stage and growth stage but also played a catalytic role in terms of facilitating raising of domestic capital, reducing dependence on foreign capital and encouraging home grown and new venture capital funds.
3. Regulatory  Reforms : 51 regulatory reforms  have  been  undertaken  by the Government since 2016 to enhance ease of doing business, ease of raising capital and reduce compliance burden for the startup ecosystem.
4. Support for Intellectual Property Protection : Startups are eligible for fast-tracked patent application examination and disposal. The Government launched Start-ups Intellectual Property Protection (SIPP) which facilitates the startups to file applications for  patents,  designs  and  trademarks  through  registered  facilitators  in appropriate  IP  offices  by  paying  only  the  statutory  fees.  Facilitators  under  this Scheme  are  responsible  for  providing  general  advisory  on  different  IPRs,  and information on protecting and promoting IPRs in other countries. The Government bears  the  entire  fees  of  the  facilitators  for  any  number  of  patents,  trademark  or designs, and startups only bear the cost of the statutory fees payable. Startups are provided with an 80% rebate in filing of patents and 50% rebate in filling of trademark vis-a-vis other companies.
5. Self-Certification under Labour and Environmental laws : Startups are allowed to self-certify their compliance under 9 Labour and 3 Environment laws for a period of 3 to 5 years from the date of incorporation.
6. Income Tax Exemption for 3 years: Startups incorporated on or after 1st April 2016 can apply for income tax exemption. The recognised startups that are granted an Inter-Ministerial Board Certificate are exempted from income-tax for a period of 3 consecutive years out of 10 years since incorporation.
7. International Market Access to Indian Startups : One of the key objectives under the  Startup  India  initiative  is  to  help  connect  Indian  startup  ecosystem  to  global startup ecosystems through various engagement models. This has been done though international Government to Government partnerships, participation in international forums and hosting of global events. Startup India has launched bridges with over 13
8. countries (Brazil, Sweden, Russia, Portugal, UK, Finland, Netherlands, Singapore, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Croatia) that provides a soft-landing platform for startups from the partner nations and aid in promoting cross collaboration.
8. Faster Exit for Startups : The Government has notified Startups as 'fast track firms' enabling  them  to  wind  up  operations  within  90  days  vis-a-vis  180  days  for  other companies.
9. Startup India Hub : The Government launched a Startup India Online Hub on 19 th June  2017  which  is  one  of  its  kind  online  platform  for  all  stakeholders  of  the entrepreneurial ecosystem in India to discover, connect and engage with each other. The Online Hub hosts Startups, Investors, Funds, Mentors, Academic Institutions, Incubators, Accelerators, Corporates, Government Bodies and more.
10. Exemption for the Purpose Of Clause (VII)(b) of Sub-section (2) of Section 56 of  the  Act  (2019) :  A  DPIIT  recognized  startup  is  eligible  for  exemption  from  the provisions of section 56(2)(viib) of the Income Tax Act.
11. Startup India Showcase : Startup India Showcase is an online discovery platform for the  most  promising  startups  of  the  country  chosen  through  various  programs  for startups exhibited in a form of virtual profiles. The startups showcased on the platform have distinctly emerged as the best in their fields. These innovations span across various  cutting-edge  sectors  such  as  Fintech,  EntrepriseTech,  Social  Impact, HealthTech, EdTech, among others. These startups are solving critical problems and have shown exceptional innovation in their respective sectors. Ecosystem stakeholders have nurtured and supported these startups, thereby validating their presence on this platform.
12. National  Startup  Advisory  Council :  The  Government  in  January  2020  notified constitution of the National Startup Advisory Council to advise the Government on measures needed to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and startups in  the  country  to  drive  sustainable  economic  growth  and  generate  large  scale employment opportunities. Besides the ex-officio members, the council has a number of non-official  members,  representing various stakeholders from the startup ecosystem.
13. Startup India: The Way Ahead : Startup India: The Way Ahead at 5 years celebration of Startup India was unveiled on 16 th  January 2021 which includes actionable plans for promotion of ease of doing business for startups, greater role of technology in executing various reforms, building capacities of stakeholders and enabling a digital Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
14. Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS): Easy availability of capital is essential for entrepreneurs at the early stages of growth of an enterprise. The capital required at this stage often presents a make-or-break situation for startups with good business ideas.  The  Scheme  aims  to  provide  financial  assistance  to  startups  for  proof  of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialization. Rs. 945 crore has been sanctioned under the SISFS Scheme for period of 4 years starting from 2021-22.

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