Finally, Chandigarh finalises start-up policy, notification likely by month-end
Chandigarh began drafting the policy in 2018, two years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the Start-up India Policy and directed UTs and states to frame their own policies tailored to the needs of entrepreneurs in their regions. However, due to several flip-flops, the UT missed multiple deadlines for enforcing the policy.
Finally, after five years, the UT administration has finalised its start-up policy. The presentation is scheduled before UT adviser Dharam Pal on October 23, with the notification expected in the last week of this month.
The UT began drafting the policy in 2018, two years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the Start-up India Policy and directed UTs and states to frame their own policies tailored to the needs of entrepreneurs in their regions. However, due to several flip-flops, the UT missed multiple deadlines for enforcing the policy.
Hargunjit Kaur, secretary of industries for the UT, stated that the policy has been finalised and the presentation will be given to the UT adviser on October 23, with the notification expected in the last week of October.
Naveen Manglani, vice-president of the Chamber of Chandigarh Industries, said, “It took UT five years to finalise a policy. Although Chandigarh is an education hub in the region, with youth from Haryana, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh coming to pursue higher education here, the city lacks job opportunities, which eventually results in brain drain. The problem gets compounded in the absence of a dedicated start-up policy.”
In August this year, the issue of sart-up was raised in the Lok Sabha, where minister of state, ministry of commerce and industry, Som Parkash provided the data for the city and mentioned that as of now, there are 335 start-ups recognised under the Startup India Initiative in Chandigarh. However, the UT administration is still lagging behind in implementing its dedicated start-up policy for aspiring entrepreneurs, five years after its initial conceptualisation.
‘Chandigarh 2030 and Beyond’, a vision document released in July this year, had also taken note of the limited employment opportunities in the city. The document noted that the government was the major employer in the city, while adding that the number of higher education institutes was limited compared to the student influx from adjoining states, resulting in a lack of concerted efforts to impart technical skills crucial for the ever-changing work environments. The document also highlighted the need for rejuvenated efforts to bring digital jobs to the city — by reinventing the scope of the IT Park and attempting to set up a film city or a media hub.
What’s in store?
Early-stage financing: The UT will establish a seed fund with an initial corpus of ₹10 crore and a total corpus of ₹50 crore over a period of five years.
Start-up ecosystem: A dedicated start-up fund will be established to promote incubation centres, seed and scale-up funding, and other fiscal support for start-up units.
Women entrepreneurs: A minimum of 33% of the Chandigarh seed fund and interest-free loans will be dedicated to women-led start-ups that meet the eligibility criteria.
Intellectual property rights: Provision of access to high-quality intellectual property services and resources, including fast-track examination of patent applications and rebates in fee. Easier norms for procurement by public entities from start-ups will be made without any relaxation in technical specifications or quality standards.