Startups can now focus on their business, not compliances: Nirmala Sitharaman

Entrepreneurs can now focus on their ideas and work on them, instead of worrying about the numerous approvals to be gained from various departments. The NDA government is serious about giving the much need boost to startups with respect to bureaucratic processes associated with their business. At the much awaited Startup India Stand up India event in New Delhi today, Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State, Commerce and Industry, elaborated on how her government is boosting the startup ecosystem in the country.

Sitharaman said, “From August 15, 2015, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Startup India campaign, we have been engaging with all ministries concerned to bring all the stakeholders together, how best to use the synergy, and hold conversations with startups.” She added that the system has been created already, and the government is recognising it to help accelerate.

In the context of lack of clarity in policies and long processes of getting approvals, startups will get some relief soon. Sitharaman said that the NDA government is aiming to be a facilitator for the growth of startups, and not come down on them. “The government will remove the clutter so that startups can focus on their core business ideas rather than the compliances they have to attend to,” she said.

There is no doubt that India has witnessed a major cultural shift in looking at entrepreneurs. Sitharaman said that the number of youngsters looking for government jobs has decreased. “There is nobody looking for government jobs now; our youngsters want to be the masters of their destiny,” she says. Sitharaman also spoke about the importance of how startups should come to India, stay in India, and not get confined to India and just tech-based industries, as other sectors have also gained traction. “Entrepreneurship is longer condemned as jugaad,” she added. The mass homecoming of entrepreneurs to India from Silicon Valley which assisted the startup boom in India in the past year also gained mention in her speech. “They have come back to establish that they have something to contribute to India,” she said.

“The last one year has seen a 50 per cent increase in financing of startups in India,” she said. Sitharaman reiterated that her government’s ‘Fund of funds’ is one among the several sources to help startups.

Many entrepreneurs who were not able to succeed with their startups have said that the numerous processes in red tape keep them bound to the failure. In a measure to let the startups walk away gracefully from failures, the Minister has said that the government will make exits easier for investors as well as startup founders. The Bankruptcy Bill is already in Parliament.

Your Story is an official partner of Start Up India Stand Up India.

Live coverage of the event can be found here.