STARTUP INDIA SCHEME - A REVIEW

Startup India Scheme is a flagship initiative of the Government of India (GOI) intended to generate large scale employment opportunities which was launched in January 2016.

- Dr. V S Kaveri

Introduction:

India has managed to retain its position as the 3rd largest start ecosystem in the world with more experienced professionals taking up an entrepreneurship route. It has also scrolled up in 2018 to position itself 57th rank in the Global Innovation Index from the 60th position in the previous year. In addition, India also holds the title for the highest Unicom holder of 8 ventures right after the US and China.

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), GOI, is mandated to coordinate implementation of the Startup India initiative with other Government Departments viz. Department of Science and Technology, Department of Bio-technology, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Ministry of Labor and Employment, Ministry of Corporate Affairs and NITI Aayog. Hence, the Government wants the contribution of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to India's GDP to reach 50 per cent by 2024, from the current 29 per cent, and provide jobs to nearly 15 crore youths in the next four years, up from 11 crores at present.

Further, these Startups and MSMEs are the foundation based on which Government's both Atma Nirbhar Mission and Make in India Vision, aim at generating more employment, increasing exports, improving the standard of living of millions of Indians and making India strong globally. While there is enough potential for the startups to grow in the coming years, there are numerous issues before them which need to be addressed. Similarly, it is necessary to create awareness of the role of startups particularly in rural areas on the part of entrepreneurs, officers in Government and banks for which it calls for bringing success stories to the notice to them. In this backdrop, the present article is written to make an overview of promotion & development of startups in India, discuss a live success startup case and examine issues and suggestions.