PM Modi to Launch Madhya Pradesh Start-up Policy Next Week

Madhya Pradesh government will launch the MP Startup Policy on May 13, according to Omprakash Sakhlecha, minister of micro, small, and medium enterprises. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually launch the startup policy. According to Sakhlecha, Madhya Pradesh is one of the leading states in terms of economic development. The industry's investment-friendly policies, the process of simplification in the business sector, and special efforts in economic and social infrastructure have resulted in a significant increase in state investments.

"It had been a state government endeavour to create more employment for local youths through innovation and entrepreneurship," he said. The startup policy aims to provide startups with institutional ease of doing business, infrastructure, procurement policy, marketing, and other incentive support.

The policy's unique feature is the inclusion of special financial and non-financial facilities to encourage product-based startups.

The announcement comes at a time when various state governments are taking steps to strengthen their respective startup ecosystems. Earlier this week, the Delhi government also unveiled the Delhi Startup Policy, which includes a slew of initiatives aimed at fostering entrepreneurship in the nation's capital and positioning Delhi as India's startup capital.

The Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, stated that the Delhi Startup Policy will assist startup founders not only financially but also in a variety of other ways. Aside from that, the CM made a slew of announcements, mostly monetary in nature, aimed at assisting startups in their early stages when funding is scarce.

To begin, Kejriwal stated that the government would subsidize basic necessities such as internet and office space rent. Furthermore, the startups would be assisted in paying their employees if necessary, as well as provided with a credit line to assist them in obtaining collateral-free loans with interest-free terms for the first year.

In addition, Kejriwal stated that the government would provide free trademark and patent registration services, as well as financial support for all incubation and fabrication centres.

The Delhi government would hire agencies and professionals to assist startups for free under the startup policy. These professionals, which include lawyers and chartered accountants (CAs), would assist startup founders with trading legal procedures such as trademark registration and GST filing, among others.

The state government will also form a task force of 20 people to monitor, scrutinize, and register startups founded in the NCR region. The task force will include one government official, three academics, and one industry representative.

The Tamil Nadu government also increased its startup policy in April of this year in order to support more entrepreneurs. Sivarajah Ramanathan, CEO of Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission (TANSIM), stated that the mission intends to support the creation of at least 10,000 startups in the state by 2026.

"We will promote entrepreneurship networks in colleges and ensure that more startups receive funding outside of cities like Chennai and Coimbatore," he said. Furthermore, the agency would streamline the operation of the existing 80 incubation centres and connect these emerging talent networks with markets and investors.

The nodal agency wanted to build a startup database and a mentor network to help these startups scale up. The move would allow the state government to collect systematic data on where the startups are located as well as funding information.