After lukewarm results, Startup India policy set to be revamped

With the Startup India policy showing lukewarm results more than a year after it was launched, the government is all set to make changes to the initiative to attract more new businesses.

To encourage innovation, the Centre will tweak the policy within a fortnight, according to a report in Business Standard. Amendments will include change in the definition of the policy, making it more liberal for the biotechnology sector. Startups in this space could enjoy advantages of the policy till up to eight years from incorporation, up from five years.

As per the Startup India report released in April, only ten startups received approval by the Inter-Ministerial Board (IMB) for availing tax benefit even as 208 applications were considered since the launch of the scheme in January last year.

Now, those who faced rejection can apply again. "The only mandate for acceptance or rejection of proposals is that the idea has to be innovative. The entity may have applied at a premature stage. It may have grown or advanced over time,” a Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) official was quoted as saying.

DIPP will encourage entrepreneurs to self-certify their companies and also relax public procurement norms. The department is also mulling some concessions on patent filing and to help startups in funding and investment and also make it easier for companies to exit businesses.