PM Modi’s Startup India launch: What startups have to say about the scheme

Will join the programme to commence the #StartupIndia movement this evening. Looking forward to interacting with start-up entrepreneurs.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 16, 2016

Here is a wrap of how India Inc, especially startups are reacting to the news.

“The much awaited unveiling of #StartupIndia by Prime Minister of India has brought lots of positively among the entrepreneurs in India. We are elated by the fact that India has the third largest number of start-ups globally. IESA (Indian Electronics and Semiconductor Association) applauds the government on being a facilitator to build the startup nation. With the Government’s support, a startup can be built in a day which will definitely motivate many young entrepreneurs to turn ideas into action thereby increasing the jobs in India as well,”says M N Vidyashankar, President, IESA. 

He added on the issue, “Amongst the many action plans discussed, I would like to share my views on the Legal support for filing patents at free of cost and 80% reduction in filing patent fee. This action would bring out the confidence among the entrepreneurs to startup with hassle free process. With faster patent registration and protection for Intellectual Property rights, every entrepreneur would be confident of not losing his or her ideas to any other.”

Sean Blagsvedt, Co-Founder & CEO, Babajob.com, said: “We are incredibly excited about the Startup India Action Plan announcement, which has dozens of policy innovations to foster more creative startups. At Babajob, we can’t wait to help connect India’s aspiring millions with jobs at the next generation of startups; I only wish the plan was in place when we started.”

“The relaxation of the financial and labour norms is a great step towards making things simpler for young startups so they can focus on innovation without getting entangled in some of these norms that are more applicable to larger entities.  I am extremely excited about the Atal Innovation Mission, this will help foster innovation at a grass root level among students in schools and colleges, which will in turn encourage more youngsters to enter the field of entrepreneurship and innovate and create some ground breaking products that will be used by people around the world. India is already a leading startup hub and I am convinced that with the right support from the government, it can rapidly become the innovation hub of the world,” says Shashank ND, Founder & CEO, Practo. 

Umesh Sachdev, CEO & Co-Founder, Uniphore Software Systems: “Over the past few years, the startup ecosystem has witnessed exponential growth within the country. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s direct involvement in promoting startups with ‘Start-up India Stand up India’ initiative, we can expect a positive impact on the ecosystem as well as the economy. The government needs to play a pivotal role in various dimensions of the startup ecosystem, and the main focus should revolve around the 3P’s (Promotion, Policy and Pravasi Indians (NRI)). The government should help provide a voice to the startups, by promoting them across the world which will help them emerge internationally. Secondly, creating startup friendly policies, which will nurture their growth by preventing hurdles like red tapism etc.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during the launch of “Startup India” action plan at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Saturday. (PTI Photo by Kamal Kishore)

Abhishek Sinha, Co-Founder & CEO, Eko Financial Services Pvt Ltd: “It was indeed high time for the government to acknowledge the action and the impact of technology/IP based startups in the country. I am very happy with announcements for Startup coming right from the Prime Minister. This ensures that a right stage is set at the top most level. We must encourage more technology/IP/product based startups in India. We have seen how it positively impacts the overall economy and job scene in the country. The new corporate law discourages entrepreneurs to even get access to small capital through personal loans. In our effort to curb wrong practices we come up with complex regulations which may ensure that fly-by-night operators are identified sooner than later though they also seriously impede the progress of others who are working sincerely.”

Nidhi Agarwal, CEO & Founder, KAARYAH.com said, “Startup India has been a very motivating event that has brought to the fore the power of India’s startup ecosystem. It has also highlighted the ability of Indians to innovate and solve the unique problems that we face in our country. It is heartening to see the government’s resolve to empower and grow the ecosystem. The need of the hour is to put in motion the schemes laid down by the PM. I am confident that today’s event will give more courage to the thousands who have been sitting on the fence to start up and make a difference.”

Manu Agarwal, CEO & Founder, Naaptol Online Shopping Pvt. Ltd: “This initiative will help startups get a foothold in India. It will bring the aspiring entrepreneurs and investors on a common platform. We too were a startup not too long ago and with the right cash infusion at the right time, we’ve grown to be the leading home shopping company in India. The ‘Make in India’ initiative has already garnered an incredible response from promising young entrepreneurs who have innovative ideas on running a business. The Indian youth is geared up for a sea of new opportunities & the Indian government’s support through the ‘make in India’ endeavour is a great support.

Pramod Saxena, Chairman Oxigen Services highlighted the need of easy access to capital for the growth of start-ups. He said, “Also, banks are not taking position to support early stage projects hence only areas of interest to VCs/ PVT Equity are seeing growth in startup’s. If government ensures a frictionless access to early stage capital to young entrepreneurs, we will see many more startup’s in areas of priority for country’s overall development.”

Also Read: With right set of policies, Start Up India can change India’s business landscape

Sanjay Krishna Goyal, CEO & Founder ACL Mobile said, “The government initiatives should focus on building a start up culture in the country by promoting all round entrepreneurial development and subsequently creating an eco-system for conducive growth of the startups. The movement must aim at reducing cost. This can be done by defining a startup, easing regulations and the procedures around the company registration process, and possibly exempting startups from direct and indirect taxes, at least in their initial years, to reduce cash outflows.”

looking forward to #StartupIndia https://t.co/BUF9SIWKFy

— Nikesh Arora (@nikesharora) January 16, 2016

Must Read: The billion dollar club of Indian startups: From Flipkart to Shopclues

Amit Rathore, Founder & CEO, Quintype said, “Start-ups need to attract the best of talent and retain that talent. Currently, the employee stock option plans for start-ups is not tax friendly. It is important to incentivize risk taking and innovation with tax breaks. Today it is reserved for the elite. This needs to change.”

On the eve of #StartupIndia launch, here’s a message from @CimGOI Smt. @nsitharaman . @standup_startup pic.twitter.com/FjplrmrqgI

— CIM India@GOI (@CimGOI) January 15, 2016

“As part of the initiative, Government should look into easing the process of starting a business by making the entire process technology based. Also, Indian start-ups are in need of better infrastructure. We also need to re-look at our education system and incorporate a more practical fact driven system. Subjects like entrepreneurship should be made part of the curriculum,” said Shailesh Jain, Co-founder, Mirraw.com.

“With more than a billion people with Mobile technology, it’s easy to say that technology will lead our #Startup ecosystem!” #StartupIndia

— NASSCOM (@nasscom) January 16, 2016