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TN woos startups with exemptions, grants
Chennai: Tamil Nadu is wooing MSMEs and start-ups after committing to 49 investment projects worth around Rs
Chennai: Tamil Nadu is wooing MSMEs and start-ups after committing to 49 investment projects worth around Rs. 28,508 crore earlier this week.
The state on Friday announced the second edition of TANSEED (Tamil Nadu Startup Seed Grant Fund) 2021 during July-September 2021 to support up to 20 start-ups with seed grants of ₹10 lakh each. Start-ups registered under Startup India and with StartupTN and those willing to register here have been invited to pitch their innovation and win a seed grant.
The Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission, also known as “StartupTN” was formed as a Section 8 Company under the MSME department by the Tamil Nadu government in March 2021. Startup TN had launched the first edition of TANSEED 2021 during January-February this year and had supported 10 promising startups with a seed grant of ₹10 lakh each.
Additionally, to improve the start-up ecosystem in the state, the government has decided to provide exemptions from four entry barriers- Earnest Money Deposit (EMD), condition of prior turnover and prior experience for government purchases up to ₹20 lakh and waiver of tender cost. With this, Tamil Nadu joins the list of states such as Karnataka, Telangana, and Kerala who have already provided such exemptions.
A government order dated July 22 signed by Arun Roy, Secretary, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) department, stated that many start-ups struggle in the early stages because of a lack of market for their products and that government patronage can solve their marketing problem to a great extent.
Roy said after careful examination, the government has decided to provide concessions to registered start-ups for public procurements by a procuring entity which includes government departments such as public sector undertakings (PSUs), local bodies, cooperative institutions, universities, statutory boards, and societies.
Experts say that the highlight of the new orders is that a start-up registers with the Udyam portal in another state like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra etc can also benefit, if they can register as a start-up in either Tamil Nadu’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) or Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Policy (TANSIM). This they believe can attract start-ups from other states.
“A few days back investors were invited and now entrepreneurs are invited. These efforts will show its benefits in three to four years’ time frame on the creation of unicorns from Tamil Nadu and employment opportunities,” said K E Raghunathan, Consortium of Indian Associations.
