Jammu: The government has approved J&K Start-up Policy 2024-27 in supersession to the Start-up policy notified in the year 2018, an official spokesperson informed Thursday.
He said the policy has the objective of setting up 2000 new Start-up in Jammu & Kashmir in the next five years.
The Administrative Council (AC) which met here under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, approved the new policy, for which the Government of Jammu & Kashmir will set up a Venture Capital Fund of Rs 250 crores and will infuse a maximum of Rs 25 crores as an initial fund to this fund.
Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to the LG; Atal Dulloo, Chief Secretary; Mandeep Kumar Bhandari, Principal Secretary to LG attended the meeting.
The venture capital fund so created shall invest primarily in recognized start-ups of Jammu & Kashmir. The department shall work out detailed modalities for the creation of the venture fund and its usage in consultation with the Finance department, the spokesperson said.
He said the department may also work out a mechanism to facilitate allotment of land to start-ups having good potential for growth. There is also a provision of one-time assistance as seed funding up to Rs 20 lakhs (4 equal instalments) to be provided to start-ups recognized by JKEDI which is a nodal agency for start–ups. For seed funding, there is the capping of 25 start-ups per year which is a decision based upon the available budget and desire to support a manageable number of start-ups effectively.
The government is committed to establishing 2000 start-ups in three years but by providing seed funding to a smaller number of carefully selected start-ups, the government can prioritize quantity over quality for long-term economic growth. This will also ensure that the resources are utilized efficiently. The budgetary support for implementation of the Start-up Policy for a period of three years will be Rs 39.60 crores, the spokesperson said.
In order to nurture and inspire the entrepreneurial talent of J&K by creating a vibrant and robust start-up ecosystem in the UT, the government felt that there is a need to re-furbish the existing start-up policy issued in the year 2018 and bring new policy suited to meet model challenges in this sector in the UT of J&K, he said.
After the feedback received from various stakeholder consultations by the Industries and Commerce Department, the need was felt to strengthen the incubation and acceleration eco-system for start-ups which has been addressed in the current policy.
The implementation of this scheme in UT shall be monitored by a high-powered committee headed by the Chief Secretary and implemented by a task force committee headed by the Administrative Secretary of Industries & Commerce.
The policy provides for providing entrepreneurship facilities to students, and women and support to the entrepreneurs through government/private/high net worth individuals for setting up of start-ups.
