Lok Sabha Question No. 40 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-04
Subject: Registered New Startups
Ministry: CORPORATE AFFAIRS
Asked by: Manoj Kishorbhai Kotak, Raksha Nikhil Khadse

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO. 40 ANSWERED ON MONDAY, 04 th  DECEMBER 2023 AGRAHAYANA 13, 1945 (SAKA)

## REGISTERED NEW STARTUPS

## QUESTION

40. SHRI MANOJ KOTAK: SHRIMATI RAKSHA NIKHIL KHADSE:

Will the Minister of CORPORATE AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

कारपोरेट कार्य मंत्री

- (a) whether Government has registered new startups in the country during the last four years;
- (b) if so, the details of registration of startups and other categories of limited liability partnership, private limited and limited company, product -wise and State-wise;
- (c) whether Government is providing assistance to startups, if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the details of the startups which are recognised pan India and abroad and their achievements?

## ANSWER

Minister  of  State  (Independent  Charge)  of  the  Ministry  of  Statistics  and Programme  Implementation;  Minister  of  State  (Independent  Charge)  of  the Ministry of Planning and Minister of State in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

सांख्यिकी और कार्यक्रम कार्ायन्वर्न मंत्रालर् क े राज्य मंत्री ( स्वतंत्र प्रभार ) ; र्ोजना मंत्रालर् क े राज्य मंत्री ( स्वतंत्र प्रभार ) और कॉपोरेट मामलों क े मंत्रालर् में राज्य मंत्री।

(Rao Inderjit Singh)

राव इंद्रजीत

ससंह

(a), (c) and (d) :  Information about Registered New Startups is not maintained by  this  Ministry.  Department  for    Promotion  of  Industry  and  Internal  Trade (DPIIT),  Ministry  of  Commerce  &  Industry  (DPIIT)  has  informed  that  as  per eligibility conditions prescribed under G.S.R. notification 127 (E) dated 19th February  2019,  entities  are  recognized  as  'startups'  under  Startup  India initiative by DPIIT. Since the launch of Startup India initiative in 2016, DPIIT has recognised 1,14,902 entities as startups as on 31 st  October 2023.

The number of startups recognized under the Startup India initiative in the last four years as on 31 st  October 2023 are as under:

|   Year | Number of DPIIT Recognised Startups During the Year   |
|--------|-------------------------------------------------------|
|   2019 | 10,659                                                |
|   2020 | 13,838                                                |
|   2021 | 19,424                                                |
|   2022 | 26,360                                                |

(c): Under the Startup India initiative, the Government constantly undertakes various efforts for the development and growth of startup ecosystem in the country.

The flagship Schemes namely, Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) support startups at various stages of their business cycle to enable startups to graduate to a level where they are able to raise investments from angel investors  or  venture  capitalists  or  seek  loans  from  commercial  banks  or financial institutions. The Government also implements annual exercises and programs  including  States'  Startup  Ranking,  National  Startup  Awards  and Innovation Week which play an important role in the holistic development of the  startup  ecosystem.  The  Government  also  facilitates  participation  and engagement  of  Indian  startups  on  international  platforms.  Details  of  such programs implemented under the Startup India initiative by the Government are placed as Annexure-I.

There are recognised startups in every State and Union Territory (UT) spread across more than 80% of the districts of the country. The recognised startups have reportedly created more than 12.22 lakh direct jobs as on 31 st  October 2023.

(b):   Details  of  registration  of  startups  with  desired  bifurcation  is  not maintained  by  the  DPIIT.  Therefore,  the  information  maintained  on  MCA21 system regarding  Limited Liability Partnerships, Private limited and limited companies incorporated in last four years,  Product wise and State-wise is shown in the link :

MCA Website Parliament Questions & Assurances Others ********

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

1. Startup India Action Plan: An Action Plan for Startup India was unveiled on 16th 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. Startup India: The Way Ahead: Startup India: The Way Ahead at 5 years celebration  of  Startup  India  was  unveiled  on  16th  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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Credit  Guarantee  Scheme  for  Startups  (CGSS): The  Government  has established the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups for providing credit guarantees to loans extended to DPIIT recognized startups by Scheduled Commercial  Banks,  Non-Banking  Financial  Companies  (NBFCs)  and Venture Debt Funds (VDFs) under SEBI registered Alternative Investment Funds. CGSS is aimed at providing credit guarantee up to a specified limit against  loans  extended  by  Member  Institutions  (MIs)  to  finance  eligible borrowers viz. DPIIT recognised startups.
6. Regulatory Reforms: Over 55 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.
7. Ease of Procurement: To enable ease of procurement, Central Ministries/ Departments  are  directed  to  relax  conditions  of  prior  turnover  and  prior experience in public procurement for all DPIIT recognised startups subject to  meeting  quality  and  technical  specifications.  Further,  Government  eMarketplace (GeM) also facilitates and promotes procurement of products and services by the Government from startups.
8. 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.
9. Income Tax Exemption for 3 years: Startups incorporated on or after 1st April 2016 can apply for income tax exemption. The recognized startups that are granted an Inter-Ministerial Board Certificate are exempted from incometax for a period of 3 consecutive years out of 10 years since incorporation.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. Support for Intellectual Property Protection: Startups are eligible for fasttracked  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.
13. Startup India Hub: The Government launched a Startup India Online Hub on 19th 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.
14. 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 20 countries that provides a soft-landing platform  for  startups  from  the  partner  nations  and  aid  in  promoting  cross collaboration.
15. 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,  EnterpriseTech,  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.
16. 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.
17. National Startup Awards (NSA): National Startup Awards is an initiative to recognize and reward outstanding startups and ecosystem enablers that are building innovative products or solutions and scalable enterprises, with high potential  of  employment  generation  or  wealth  creation,  demonstrating measurable social impact. Handholding support is provided to all the finalists across various tracks viz. Investor Connect, Mentorship, Corporate Connect, Government  Connect,  International  Market  Access,  Regulatory  Support, Startup Champions on Doordarshan and Startup India Showcase, etc.
18. States'  Startup  Ranking  Framework  (SRF): States'  Startup  Ranking Framework  is  a  unique  initiative to harness  strength of competitive federalism and create a flourishing startup ecosystem in the country. The major  objectives  of  the  ranking  exercise  are  facilitating  states  to  identify, learn  and  replace  good  practices,  highlighting  the  policy  intervention  by states  for  promoting  startup  ecosystem  and  fostering  competitiveness among states.
19. Startup  Champions  on  Doordarshan: Startup  Champions  program  on Doordarshan  is  a  one-hour  weekly  program  covering  stories  of  award winning/  nationally  recognised  startups.  It  is  telecasted  in  both  Hindi  and English across Doordarshan network channels.
20. Startup India Innovation Week: The Government organises Startup India Innovation week around the National Startup Day i.e., 16th January, with the primary goal was to bring together the country's key startups, entrepreneurs, investors,  incubators,  funding  entities,  banks,  policymakers,  and  other national/international stakeholders to celebrate entrepreneurship and promote innovation.
21. ASCEND: Under ASCEND (Accelerating Startup Caliber & Entrepreneurial Drive),  sensitization  workshops  on  startups  and  entrepreneurship  were
22. conducted for all eight North Eastern States with the objective to capacitate and augment knowledge on key aspects of entrepreneurship and continue efforts towards creating a robust startup ecosystem in these States.
22. The Startup India Investor Connect Portal has been co-developed under the Startup India Initiative with SIDBI, serving as an intermediary platform that links startups and investors in order to help entrepreneurs from various industries, functions, stages, regions, and backgrounds in mobilizing capital. The portal has been built with the aim to enable in particular; early-stage startups located anywhere in the country to showcase themselves to leading investors/ venture capital funds.
23. National Mentorship Portal (MAARG) : In order to facilitate accessibility to mentorship for startups in every part of the country, the Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience, and Growth (MAARG) program has been developed and launched under the Startup India Initiative.

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