44% of all startups are found in Tier II and Tier III cities, says PM Modi

PM Narendra Modi spoke to entrepreneurs and startups that have benefitted from the Startup India Policy on 6th June. In his interaction with the entrepreneurs though NaMo app and other media, he stated that the government has tried to bring the startup innovation culture down to Tier II and Tier III cities as well as to rural areas, which was so far limited to Tier I cities only.

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He further stated that India is a country where 65% of the population is aged less than 35 years and the government is enabling them to think of innovative solutions. He mentioned that 44% of the startups are found in Tier II and Tier III cities today. The startups are founded across 419 districts of India and about 45% are founded by women entrepreneurs.

Narendra Modi stated that capital, courage and connection are essential for any startup. And under the Startup India campaign, the government has tried to address all the three and has taken a lot of initiatives under the Startup Indian Policy to address the issues at every level. While listening to the founder’s innovation stories, he stated that a number of processes have been eased in order to smoothen the journey for startups. The number of trademark filing forms has been reduced to eight from 75. Additionally, a subsidy of 10% is extended to startups filing for trademarks and over 50% of the patent cost is borne by the government.

The government has also constituted the Startup India Hub in order to address the startup concerns and to reply to queries. More than 81,000 queries have been addressed so far. The Prime Minister also said that Atal New India Challenge was being organized where winners would be awarded Rs.1 crore and Rs.30 crore would be provided in funding. Further, India Hackathon is also being organized in order to encourage the digital ecosystem in the country. The hackathon will be jointly organized by India and Singapore in 2018-19.

The Government has also encouraged the states to make their startup policies which many have done and implemented. These initiatives have benefitted a number of startups already, but many claim that the process to avail of these facilities is tedious and could take up many years. The government still needs to look at bridging the existing gaps in process and education in order to grow the Startup India culture.