Patna: The Bihar’s Industries Department has started removing the hurdles in the startup ecosystem. It has announced a new Startup policy to encourage and speed up the process of approval of fresh business ideas.
Under the new policy, valid for till 2027, the screening committee for startups will have experts as members from the state, instead of those from other states. The committee will, however, continue to be headed by the Industries Director, said Additional Chief Secretary, Cabinet, S Sidharth, adding that the State Cabinet has approved the policy.
The basic idea of facilitating the change in old set up was to speed up the process of screening and approval of fresh business ideas so that the State could emerge as the most preferred destination for start-ups and entrepreneurs by leveraging the potential of local youth through a conducive startup ecosystem for inclusive growth in the State.
“The previous screening committee was comprised of experts from outside the State and hence the panel did not meet regularly to take up fresh proposals. It was noticed that the State was entrepreneurs were unable to seize the opportunity to cash in on a conducive ambiance for industrial development. So that the State Industries Department has brought about the change,” said Sidharth.
The new policy also envisages setting up the startup fund trust, headed by the Development Commissioner, to dole out financial support to the promising business plans. The department will also have startup monitoring and implementation committee with Industries Department’s Principal Secretary, to facilitate easy approval and incubation of the qualified startups.
Regarding the new policy, Principal Secretary, Industries Department, Sandeep Pondrik said that the Industries Directorate would act as facilitator for the process and look after development of proper framework, startup project management agency, for supporting potential startups. “The business proposals would be rated by the third party agency. The approved startups will qualify for the grant through online portal,” said Pondrik.
The Industries department has tied up with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Patna, National Institute of Technology (NIT), Patna, and other prominent technical institutions to act as incubation centres for business ideas. “The selected ideas would be funded both by the Centre as well as the State during the incubation phase also,” said a senior officer.
