Odisha to expand on the vastly-growing startup base

Startup Odisha, an initiative created by Chief Minister, Shri Naveen Patnaik, is set to change startup support policies to encourage entrepreneurship in the state.

India is currently the third biggest startup hub, preceded only by the USA and UK, according to a report by Assocham and Thought Arbitrage. With Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai as leading clusters, other cities like Chennai and Pune are on course to follow. Odisha could well soon be added to this list too.

According to the program’s vision statement, it was created in 2016 aims for the city “to emerge amongst the top 3 ‘Startup Hubs’ in India by 2020 through strategic partnerships, conducive ecosystem, investment and policy intervention”.

In recent efforts, the program issued INR 20,000 as a monthly sustenance allowance, as well as up to 15 Lakh monetary assistance for new product development and marketing. To develop ‘ease of starting up’, the program limited its registration form to a single page and developed a system based on self-certification, where applicants assess their own timeframes and right to benefits.

The program’s attention is not only towards startups, but also the 24 incubators in the state. The proposed changes suggest a grant up to Rs 1 crore to develop the incubator infrastructure, as well as Rs 5 crore to philanthropies and industry bodies.

“Every startup is a MSME while every MSME may not be a startup. Thus startups are very important to me,” said L.N. Gupta, Additional Chief Minister, MSME department. Gupta is also the main inspiration behind the policy changes.

As reported by India Today, Startup Odisha Initiative (SOI) has recognized 80 startups from various industries. Funds have already been allocated to 8 of the startups, with 32 more in the pipeline. 3 of the startups were founded by women.

“We propose to create a conducive environment for startups, empower them to grow through innovation and design, create a world-class scientific ecosystem and enable our to pursue their dreams,“ says chief minister Patnaik on SOI’s homepage.