The Centre is likely to fulfil its plan to have at least one registered startup in each of the 785 districts of the country within a year as only 20-25 districts remain without any registered startup, industry department officials said.
As of March 31, there were more than 100 districts without a single startup recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), one of the officials told ET.
Most of the 20-25 districts waiting for their first registered startups are in far flung areas of northeastern states including Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Sikkim, or in left-wing extremism-affected areas in states such as Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, the person said.
“The department has been working with academic institutions, state and district administrations, startup accelerators and seed funds to boost awareness of having startups across the country… The economic activity gets enhanced with startups being launched,” the official said.
Under the government’s Startup India scheme, more than 100,000 startups have been recognised by the DPIIT.
To become a registered startup, a company should be less than 10 years old, and should have an annual turnover of not more than Rs 100 crore during any of the financial years since its incorporation, among other conditions.
Once recognised, these startups are able to access multiple incentives including tax exemptions and financial support.
“Our endeavour is to have entrepreneurs and startups in every village of the country,” DPIIT joint secretary Sanjiv told ET in response to a query. “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 official cited above said the programme was particularly facing difficulties in having startups registered with the central government in Northeast areas, given the security concerns, geopolitical issues and lack of awareness among local inhabitants.
Another hurdle that the programme faced in the last year was creation of new districts. “For example, the number of districts in Rajasthan went up from 33 to more than 50 last year after a delimitation exercise,” the official said.
Between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2023, about 117,000 startups were registered by the DPIIT. Maharashtra accounted for the highest number of them, followed by Karnataka, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, according to central government data.
The lowest number of startups in this period was registered in Lakshadweep, followed by Ladakh, Sikkim, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.
ET reported on June 17 that as part of its 100-day plan following the arrival of the new government, the industry department is expected to focus on easing early-stage funding for startups and reducing the compliance burden on businesses and the overall logistics cost.
