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.
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