Chandigarh: Punjab governor and Chandigarh administrator Gulab Chand Kataria has approved the city’s startup policy. After the approval, the policy was sent for official notification to be issued by the next week. The process of the policy started in 2018 and took almost seven years.
With features such as virtual incubation and mentor connect, a virtual incubation platform will be established to provide support from national and international mentors to startups. It includes multiple categories of financial support, sustenance, and reimbursement schemes for startups and educational institutes, a special startup cell, and an online Start-in-Chandigarh portal.
With the vision of fostering a thriving innovation-driven entrepreneurial ecosystem, the policy aims to propel Chandigarh into a global hub for entrepreneurship and sustainable economic development. The Startup policy will be valid for five years from 2025, with an annual budget of Rs 10 crore. The policy will be revised annually to make required changes and bring new initiatives as per requirements. The approval from the administrator followed the consent of the UT’s finance department, which reviewed all financial aspects of the policy.
A high-powered committee led by the UT’s chief secretary will serve as the apex body of the startup policy. This committee will make all vital decisions regarding policy amendments, resolve interdepartmental issues, and oversee the policy’s execution and review. Besides, the policy monitoring and implementation committee, led by secretary industries department, shall be responsible for the effective implementation of the policy by monitoring the activities undertaken by the startup cell, as proposed in the policy. The department of industries will be the nodal department to promote the startup ecosystem in Chandigarh.
Imp Box: Major financial disbursement under policy
1. The policy will have three govt higher education institutions (HEI) and one private HEI recognised as UT incubators.
2. The govt HEIs will get up to 30 lakh rupees each, and the private one up to 20 lakh rupees for technology upgrades.
3. An annual sustenance allowance of up to 7.5 lakh rupees per incubator for operational expenses will be given.
4. An annual fiscal support of 5 lakh rupees per incubator will be given to incubators for organising multiple mentorship programmes, workshops, and training.
5. To provide impetus to entrepreneurship and innovation, a corpus of 90 lakh rupees has been provisioned.
6. The top 20 startups, as per eligibility criteria per year, shall be awarded a grant of 2 lakh rupees.
7. The next 50 runners-up, as per eligibility criteria per year, shall be awarded a grant of 1 lakh rupees.
8. To bridge and facilitate the funding gap for seed and early growth stage startup entities, a corpus of 4.6 crore rupees will be provisioned.
9. At the seed stage or minimum viable product development stage, a maximum of 7 lakh rupees each will be given for 20 eligible startups.
10. Women-led startups and startups founded by transgender entrepreneurs shall receive an additional grant of 2 lakh rupees.
11. At the early growth or commercialisation stage of a startup, financial support of a maximum of 12 lakh rupees will be given for 20 eligible startups.
12. Subsidised rental rates for office spaces of 5,000 rupees per month.
13. Support for IT certification and quality certification, not exceeding 1 lakh rupees.
14. Support for patent filing fees, 10,000 rupees.
15. Support for participation in conferences and workshops, 50,000 to 2.5 lakh rupees.
16. Support for participation in acceleration programmes, 2 to 3 lakh rupees.
Imp Box: Key principles of Startup Funding
1. All startups shall need to come through established selection criteria and be subject to approval by the Project Monitoring and Implementation Committee (PMIC) of UT.
2. Only startups registered in the Start-In Chandigarh Portal with a unique ID shall be eligible.
3. All benefits shall have to be applied for and criteria met within the policy period of five years.
4. Startups shall be selected based on ranking as per the standard evaluation criteria and the preferences mentioned in the policy.
5. All incentives are subject to the availability of funds and will be based on a first-come, first-served basis.
6. Profession and fellowship, which translate into remuneration, are expected to be disclosed at the time of application for incentives.
7. Incentives, once provided, shall be liable to be recovered if not used for the intended purpose.
8. The startups may apply for the incentive throughout the respective financial year during the tenure of the policy on the Chandigarh Startup Portal. However, the applications shall be evaluated quarterly by the PMIC. The evaluation window shall be notified in the detailed operational guidelines, which shall be notified by Chandigarh.
Imp Box: The key tasks and activities of the Startup Cell
1. To initially scrutinise applications applied to avail incentives mentioned.
2. Drive the academia-industry engagement to promote research and innovation through HEIs.
3. Day-to-day functioning towards the implementation of the policy.
4. Execution of the Annual Startup Action Plan (ASAP) for the Startup policy.
5. Timely disbursement of incentives to recognised incubators and startup entities.
6. Conduct mentorship programmes, workshops, training, or any such activity.
7. Identification of co-working spaces as a preferred place of work.
8. Identification, collaboration, and liaison with domain experts for mentors.
9. Ensure query resolution and facilitation of startups.
10. Plan, organise, and coordinate all promotional events. MSID:: 119986217 413 |