TeamName - LEOS

Institute Indian Institute of Management Trichy

Participants
Antariksh Tiwari 9994859770 antariksh.p16069@iimtrichy.ac.in
Irshad Azeez
Aravind
Mrinal

9496337658 irshad.p16090@iimtrichy.ac.in
9347727026 aravind.p16099@iimtrichy.ac.in
9037518852 mrinal.p16097@iimtrichy.ac.in

Startup India Hit or Miss

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Startup India campaign

during his Independence Day address on August 15, 2015 amid much
fanfare. With the one year anniversary approaching its time to look back
and see whether the Government has hit the bar while trying to score a
goal with startups.
Under Startup India Initiative Rs10,000 Crore (0.85% of our GDP) has been
set aside as corpus fund for Startups [1]. These funds will be managed by
experienced professionals who have experience in mentoring and running
companies. Hence this money will be put to use efficiently for growth of
GDP and employment.
India currently ranks 130 out of 189 countries in ease of doing business [2].
Business traditionally had to navigate multiple layers of red tape and
bureaucracy to start operation in India. The Startup India initiative seeks
to address these issues by providing for easier Patent Application process,
relaxed norms for public procurement and fast track systems. However,
only 7 out of 571 companies that applied for tax exemption under Startup
India have received approval till date [3] which is clearly due to the
stringent criteria that restricts companies from availing benefits from this
scheme.
Startups provide a platform for academicians to bring their work out into
the world. Faculty at institutes like Harvard and Stanford get to nurture
great ideas like Microsoft Windows and Google Search. Educational
institutes have shown a great response and 47 incubators have come up
in these institutes in this short period[4].
Startups also help in skill development by following a hands on approach.
This provides new opportunities for learning and developing skills. Startup
hubs will also promote sharing of ideas and peer learning which has been
lacking in the Indian education system.
Creating a healthy startup ecosystem involves incubating facilities,
mentoring and access to other experts from related fields. Currently India
has only 110 incubation centres[5] clustered around a few metros. The lack
of experienced and skilled mentors at these facilities can cause a serious
dent in the ambitions of Startup India campaign.
India, to catchup with its peers, must focus on home grown solutions and
Startup India is a great way to achieve this goal. However, if we are not
able to address the current issues plaguing the initiative we are sure to hit
the bar and miss the goal.

References
[1]Startup India Action Plan. (2016) Retrieved
from http://dipp.nic.in/English/Investor/startupIndia/StartupIndia_ActionPlan_16Ja
nuary2016.pdf
[2] Ease of Doing Business Rankings (2016) Retrieved from
http://www.doingbusiness.org/rankings
[3] S Arun. (2016, July 19). Incubator hubs soon to spur Start-up India. Retrieved
from http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/nirmala-sitharaman-onstartup-india-and-incubator-hubs/article8866708.ece
[4] Startup India List of Incubators.(2016) Retrieved from
http://startupindia.gov.in/upload/Startup_India_List_of_Incubators.pdf
[5] Grant Thorton Report on Indian Startups. (2016) Retrieved
from http://www.grantthornton.in/globalassets/1.-memberfirms/india/assets/pdfs/grant_thornton-startups_report.pdf