Startup India: Why There is Room for Improvement


“For grassroots entrepreneurship, the government must now support open data startups, facilitate mentorship and legalise crowdfunding”.

Yatin K Thakur (January 16 2016)
 

 It is undoubtedly heartening to see our government finally put in efforts to support grassroots entrepreneurships and upcoming startups through its Startup India Action Plan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 16.

However, if one were to closely analyse the various ‘Startup India’ policies of the government, a few relevant points that would surface are as follows:

  • None of the policies so far have included any specific mention about the creation of risk capital and how startups will be able to start with ease. Legalising crowdfunding could have been a conquering step in here.
  • While it is good to talk about startup hubs, there is no specific mention about creating access for entrepreneurs in small towns and villages.
  • Talent creation, which is a part of the process of skill development, is the key to entrepreneurship. No relationship between the two has been established so far.
  • The various innovations have to be certified by either a government incubator or the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, which might become a barrier for innovators working without formal education.
  • On a more positive note, the bankruptcy bill will definitely motivate more and more people to get into entrepreneurship without the fear of failure.
  • Open data can play a crucial role in supporting innovators in coming up with innovative solutions resulting in the creation of impactful startups. Promotions for startups working on innovations around open data should be done to come up with solutions to support the government and ensure the effective and efficient use of all the open data.

Entrepreneurship education and mentorship will be the keys to the development of startups. It will be interesting to see how educational institutions, government and corporations come together to support innovators and innovations, resulting in creation of startups.

The author is a serial entrepreneur, facilitator at Startup Weekend, Founder of CoworkIn (www.coworkin.co), a chain of co-working and collaborative spaces for startups & Founder of Startup India (www.startupindia.in).


Originally published at content.timesjobs.com on January 20, 2016.

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