On 11th December 2019, The Government of Puducherry launched an “Aspiring Puducherry-Innovation & Startup Policy 2019” to create a corpus fund of Rs 10 crores to support start-up incubators and to develop co-working spaces. The policy was launched by M.O.H.F Shahjahan, Minister for Industries and Revenue, Puducherry. The Puducherry Start-up Cell will be the nodal agency for implementing the policy and will facilitate filing of patents, trademarks and designs.
Policy features:
i.As per the policy, the Government has planned to allocate Rs.3 lakh to projects recommended by incubators established by the government/private sector/academic institutions as a start-up grant.
ii.Monthly allowance: Individuals will be provided with a monthly allowance of Rs. 10,000 for a maximum of 5 years in order to reduce the financial burden. In case a co-founder of the venture is a woman, Scheduled Caste(SC), disabled, or third gender, then the department will provide Rs. 15,000 monthly as reserved allowance.
iii.Investment subsidy: Medium and large enterprises would be eligible for 35% subsidy for investment made on land, building, plant and machinery subject to a maximum of Rs. 35 lakh. Women/SC/ST (Scheduled Tribe) entrepreneurs would be given capital investment subsidy of 45% subject to a maximum of Rs. 75 lakh.
iv.Support to Students: As per the policy, govt. will provide additional 5% marks for student or a team availing incubation support for their start-up ideas or attempts
v.In case of labour laws, provisions will be made for no inspections for a period of 3 years and appropriate permission will be granted on self-certification basis.
Key points:
i.The project approval will be done by a committee of experts constituted by the Puducherry government who will also monitor the progress of projects.
ii.Members present: Industries Department Director P. Priyatarshny, Industries and Commerce secretary Devesh Singh and other officials were present in the event.
About Puducherry:
Lieutenant Governor- Kiran Bedi
Chief Minister (CM)- V. Narayanasamy
Chief Secretary– Ashwani Kumar
