India is making progress toward its goal of creating a thriving startup ecosystem. To encourage and support startup owners, the government has launched various schemes over the past few years. Startup India initiative intends to build a strong ecosystem that is conducive for the growth of startups. It aims to empower startups to achieve growth through innovation and technology. To promote growth and help the Indian economy, many benefits are being given to entrepreneurs establishing startups.
SAMRIDH Scheme
Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Electronics Information and Technology (MeitY) launched the SAMRIDH scheme on August 25, 2021. The SAMRIDH initiative aims to provide funding to entrepreneurs as well as assistance in bringing together skill sets that will help them grow successful. In the coming three years, the newly formed SAMRIDH initiative aims to focus on the acceleration of around 300 start-ups by providing them with client connections, investor connections, and other prospects for worldwide expansion.
Startup India Seed Fund
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of the INR 1,000 crore ‘Startup India Seed Fund’ on January 16, 2021, to help startups and support ideas from young entrepreneurs. PM Modi stated that the government is taking significant steps to ensure that Indian startups do not encounter capital constraints.
Startup India Initiative
The Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi launched the Startup India Initiative On the 16th of January 2016. The primary goal of the initiative is to increase wealth and employability by giving wings to entrepreneurial spirits.
The government provides tax benefits to entrepreneurs under this system, and as of June 3, 2021, about 50,000 startups had been recognized through this scheme in a little more than five years. the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion is maintaining this initiative and is treating it as a long-term project. It is one of the best government-sponsored startup schemes for entrepreneurs as it provides several concessions.
ASPIRE
The Indian government has made continual efforts to improve the social and economic elements of living in rural parts of India, and ASPIRE is one of the most popular initiatives sanctioned in this regard by the Indian government. The scheme was launched in 2015 to offer proper knowledge to the entrepreneurs to start with their business and emerge as employers. Since 56% of the Indian population lives in rural areas, the government has promoted entrepreneurship and innovation in the rural sector with this scheme.
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY)
Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) banks were established to improve credit access and encourage small business growth in rural areas. This scheme has been developed by the Indian government to help small enterprises. The government set aside INR 10,000 crores in 2015 to support the startup culture in India. Small businesses, non-corporate businesses, and non-farm small/micro-enterprises can get up to INR 10 lakhs in startup loans from MUDRA banks.
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
Previously, various ministries and government entities were entrusted with supporting entrepreneurship. In 2014, the Prime Minister chose to allocate an entire ministry to the development of this industry, believing that skill development required more government support. Furthermore, gap-funding and skill-development efforts are expected to reach 500 million people by 2022.
ATAL Innovation Mission
The Indian government introduced the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) in the 2015 budget session, named after India’s former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. To cultivate a culture of innovation, research, and development, the Atal Innovation Mission was founded to build a promotional platform integrating academicians and drawing on national and international experiences. In the year 2015, the government allocated roughly INR 150 crores to AIM.