Over 100 districts reportedly did not have any start-ups recognized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), as of March 31.
The Centre might achieve its goal of having at least one registered start-up in each of the 785 districts across the country within a year, as per a report by the Economic Times. Only 20–25 districts currently lack a registered start-up, according to the report.
Over 100 districts reportedly did not have any start-ups recognized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), as of March 31. The 20–25 districts still waiting to have their first registered start-ups include the northeastern states such as Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, and Sikkim. The other states include Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, and Telangana.
Speaking to the Economic Times, an official said, “The department has been working with academic institutions, state and district administrations, start-up accelerators, and seed funds to boost awareness of having start-ups across the country... The economic activity gets enhanced with start-ups being launched.”
More than 100,000 start-ups have been recognized by the DPIIT. Under the Startup India Action Plan, start-ups should fulfill certain categories to be recognized by the DPIIT. This includes having a turnover that is less than Rs 100 crore in any of the previous financial years; it should be less than ten years old.
Further, the start-up should “be working towards innovation and improvement of existing products, services, and processes and should have the potential to generate employment and create wealth.” After being recognized by the DPIIT, start-ups get several incentives, including tax exemptions and other financial support.
Speaking to the Economic Times, the joint secretary of DPIIT, Sanjiv, said that they intend to have start-ups and entrepreneurs in every village of the country. He said, “To begin with, we are working very hard to be present in all districts of the country. The last mile is always very hard, but the team is focused on achieving this.”
The government is facing difficulty setting up start-ups in northeastern states, reportedly due to geopolitical issues, a lack of awareness, and other security concerns. Another significant hurdle that is faced by the program is related to the creation of new districts after a delimitation exercise. An official, for example, reportedly said that the number of districts in Rajasthan increased to 50 from 33 last year after a delimitation exercise.