Youth in large nos. approaching govt. to set up startups in north-eastern states: Dr Jitendra Singh

“Any youngster who decides to set up startups in north-east will in addition to all the provisions available in the Government of India programme will also get initial venture capital fund from North-East ministry, so that they do not have any financial liability,” said Dr Singh while inaugurating the ASSOCHAM World Entrepreneurs Day Summit.

The minister of state in Prime Minister’s Office also said that the government is building necessary infrastructure to promote north-eastern states as a favourite destination of startup ventures in the country.

He also termed the ‘Startup India, Standup India,’ programme as the most unique programme in the world as it offers unprecedented incentives like three years of tax holiday and three months of exit period.

The minister said that it is due to present government’s efforts that a big headway had been made and entrepreneurship potential of India which was not being realised earlier at any level of the society is now being realised.

“That kind of milieu has been provided by the present government as the aptitudes were there but motivation was lacking, perhaps infrastructural difficulties were there,” said Dr Singh.

He also said that a reverse brain drain has been happening in India during the course of past couple of years.

“You must have realised that as a result of proactive outreach by the Prime Minister himself, it is not only the foreign investors who are now looking up to India as a destination, many of those who had left India in search of green pastures and settled abroad are now looking forward to opportunities to get back to India,” said Dr Singh.

“This is the phenomenon that I have observed only in the last 2-3 years,” he added.

“So this itself is a very impartial evidence of the kind of change in the business atmosphere which is being witnessed in India and I am sure in the years to come this country is going to be one of the most attractive destinations for startups and entrepreneurs,” further said the minister.

He also said that India has visibly risen so far as entrepreneurship was concerned. “We have challenges of population, infrastructure, heterogeneity and accessibility but what is heartening is that in last three years, there has been a honest, sincere and sustained effort to overcome even these hassles.”