Odisha approves start-up policy, wants at least 1,000 in 5 years

Bhubaneswar: Odisha government approved a new policy on Tuesday with a target of making the state home to at least 1,000 start-ups over the next five years. The Odisha Start-up Policy (OSP), 2016, will be unveiled by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at an investors meet in Bengaluru next month. [caption id=“attachment_1612537” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Thinkstock[/caption] OSP envisages Odisha being among the top three start-up hubs in the country by 2020 through strategic partnerships, conducive ecosystem, investments and policy intervention. “The policy will be implemented within five years and comprises of three Is - Institutions, Industry and Incubation,” Chief Secretary A P Padhi told reporters. The implementation of the policy would be monitored by a Start-up Council headed by the Chief Secretary and a Review Committee headed by Principal Secretary MSME, he said. The policy envisages ushering in an innovative start-up ecosystem through creation of world class incubation centres,funding and supporting incentives structure at par with other states. He said a Start-up Capital Infrastructure Fund (up to Rs 25 crore) would be provided by the state government to the Department of MSME through budgetary provision. He added that the state government would participate in private state specific funds for start-ups to set up operations in the state, such as seed/VC funds, limited to 1/4th of the total size. Institutions like universities and colleges would be eligible for one time capital grant of 50 per cent of capital cost, excluding the cost of building, up to a maximum of Rs 1 crore to set up an incubation facility. “Rs 10,000 per month will be provided to a start-up for a period of one year only if the start-up has got the seed round funding approval,” he said. Reimbursement of up to Rs 1 lakh per year for three years would be provided to institutions/incubators/industry for providing free internet, electricity and mentoring services as per the policy. The approved incubators would be eligible for a performance capital grant of Rs 5 lakh for each successful start-up they incubate. Marketing/publicity assistance up to Rs 5 lakh shall be reimbursed for introduction of a product in the market after Series A funding, the policy said. Need-based assistance would be considered on case-to-case basis to certified start-ups for reimbursement of the cost of raw material/ components and other related equipment, based on recommendation of the Startup Council, Padhi said.