Lok Sabha Question No. 2199 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-07-29
Subject: Non-Payment of Dues by TNGDCO
Ministry: PLANNING
Asked by: R. PARTHIPAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PLANNING

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2199 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.07.2016

## NON-PAYMENT OF DUES BY TNGDCO

## 2199:  SHRI R. PARTHIPAN:

Will the Minister of PLANNING be pleased to state:

- (a) Whether the Government proposes to push and make successful the policies under Make in India and Start-up by supporting small enterprises to promote their business;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the NITI Aayog has received certain complaints/representation from Small Scale Industries (SSI) regarding non-payment of their dues by Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TNGDCO), if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether  NITI  Aayog  has  initiated  any  enquiry/investigation  in  this  regard,  if  so,  the  details  and present status thereof; and
- (e) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND MINISTRY OF HOUSING & URBAN POVERTY ALLEVIATION (RAO INDERJEET SINGH)

- (a) Yes, Madam.

(b):  The Make in India Policy aims to facilitate investment, foster innovation, enhance skill development and build an Eco-system for manufacturing infrastructure in the country. Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises  has  been  implementing  a  number  of  programmes  and  schemes  in  the  areas  of finance, technology, infrastructure, marketing and skill development to facilitate aims of the Make in India Policy.

The 'Startup India, Standup India' initiative was announced on 15 th August 2015. The initiative aims at fostering entrepreneurship and promoting innovation by creating an ecosystem that is conducive to growth of Startups. Further to this, an Action Plan for Startup India was unveiled by the Government on 16 th January 2016. The initiative strives for providing a long due impetus to the entrepreneurial setup in economic landscape of India.

A list of measures giving push to Startup initiative which have been implemented is annexed.  A Monitoring Committee to monitor implementation of the Action Plan of Start-up India initiative has also been constituted by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.

(c)      A representation of Capital Power Systems Ltd. regarding non-payment of their dues by Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TNGDCO), forwarded by Shri Salim Ansari, Hon'ble Member  of  Parliament,  dated  09.03.2016  was  received  in  the  NITI  Aayog.  Hon'ble  Member  of Parliament was communicated the action taken on the communication/complaint.

- (d) No, Madam.
- (e)  The  enquiry/investigation  of  disputes/matters  of  commercial  nature  between  State  utilities  and private parties is not within the mandate of the NITI Aayog.

The measures which have been implemented are as follows:

-  Startup India Portal and Mobile App: These have been launched as online platform for providing updates, information, recognition and eligibility certificates to Startups and other stakeholders
-  Startup India Hub: Startup India Hub was operationalised on 1st April 2016 to resolve queries and provide handholding support to Startups.
-  Fund of Funds: A 'fund of funds' of INR 10,000 crores to support innovation driven Startups has been  established  which  shall  be  managed  by  SIDBI.  The  fund  will  invest  in  SEBI  registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) which, in turn, will invest in Startups. Rs. 500 crore has been released to SIDBI in FY2015-16 and Rs. 600 crore in FY2016-17. First meeting of Venture Capital Investment Committee (VCIC) was held on 12 th July, 2016.
-  Tax Incentives: The Finance Act, 2016 Section 80- IAC has provision for Startups (Companies and LLPs) to get income tax exemption for 3 years in a block of 5 years, if they are incorporated between 1st April 2016 and 31st March 2019.
-  Self-Certification: CPCB has exempted industries in 'white' category from all the applicable selfcertifications under the 3 environment related Acts (The water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974; The Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Cess (Amendment) Act, 2003 and The Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981) listed in the Startup India Action Plan.
-  Atal Innovation Mission (AIM): The guidelines for harnessing private sector expertise to set up incubators, organizing annual grand challenge for innovative solutions to problems faced by industry and those posed by ministries  as  well  as  a  grand  challenge  for  incubators  and  establishment  of tinkering labs have been formulated and published on NITI Aayog's and Startup India websites.
-  Relaxed Norms for Public Procurement :  Relaxed norms for public procurement for micro and small enterprises have been provisioned in the Procurement Policy of Ministry of MSME.
-  IPR  Benefits: A  panel  of  facilitators  has  been  constituted  for  assistance  in  filing  Intellectual Property (IP) applications. Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion would bear the facilitation cost on behalf of Startups and also provide rebate in the statutory fee for filing application.

Additionally, the following steps have been undertaken to provide an impetus to the overall progress of the initiative:

-  Chief Secretaries of all States and Administrators of all Union Territories have been requested to partner with DIPP in taking the Startup India initiative forward;
-  Top 50 companies in India have been requested to contribute towards strengthening the incubation facilities in the country through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives;
-  List of recognized incubators has been augmented to provide more avenues to Startups to obtain mentoring support. 20 industry bodies and organisations have been recognized by DIPP who will assess the innovative nature of Startups and provide certificates to enable them to get recognition from DIPP.
-  For incubators to get recognition by Government of India a module to recognize incubators has been launched. This will allow them to issue recommendation letters to Startups.

## Annexure