With the honorable Prime Minister announcing the StartUp India Action Plan on 16th of January 2016, all the young entrepreneurs have got wings to their dreams. It’s probably the best initiative by the government of India to boost Startups in the country. The plan lists a number of benefits that a Startup can get for its growth, but not all are eligible to receive it. The government has also set up an elaborative eligibility criterion that a Startup needs to meet in order gain from the benefits and schemes that have been announced.
So if you’re among the thousands of entrepreneurs who want to know whether their Startup is eligible or not, here is a way to help you out. The eligibility criteria listed below will help you to answer all your queries.
- Your entity should be registered as a Private Limited Company under the companies Act 2013 or Registered Partnership firm under the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 or Limited Liability Partnership under the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008.
- Entities that are registered for not more than five years are only eligible for this action plan.
- Entities with annual turnover less than or equal to 25 crores can only qualify for the scheme.
- The entity should be entirely new and must not be formed by the splitting up or reconstruction of some old business.
- The business should be innovative and must focus on developing, deploying and commercializing new products, services, and processes or significantly improving the existing ones.
- The entity that is engaged in developing product, services or process that are undifferentiated, have less potential for commercialization, or have low incremental value for customers cannot qualify for the Startup India Action Plan.
- The most important eligibility criterion is to have a certificate from the Inter-ministerial board that ensure your entity have an innovative nature.
- Your entity should fall under one of the following categories:
- Supported by a recommendation, in a format specified by DIPP, from an incubator established in a post-graduate college in India.
- Supported by an incubator which is funded from GoI as part of any specified scheme to promote innovation or from an incubator recognized by GoI.
- Funded by an Incubation Fund/Angel Fund/Private Equity Fund/Accelerator/Angel
- Network duly registered with SEBI that endorses innovative nature of the
- business.
- Funded by the Government of India as part of any specified scheme to promote
- innovation;
Or have a patent granted by the Indian Patent and Trademark Office in areas affiliated with the nature of the business being promoted.
The criteria are very simple and justified with an aim to give a chance to the small scale entities to grow and show their capability to the world. Though getting the certificate from the Inter-Ministerial board could be a tricky and time taking process. But once you’re done with it, you can get the ball rolling in your court.
So is your Startup eligible for the plan? Let us know too.