Draft National Deep Tech Startup Policy (NDTSP)

 National Deep Tech Startup Policy (NDTSP) Consortium, set-up by the Prime Minister's Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council has released the draft national deep tech startup policy (NDTSP) for public consultation. 

The draft NDTSP aims to complement and add value to the existing Startup India programmes, by fostering a conducive ecosystem for deep tech startups to thrive and address their unique and complex challenges. The draft NDTSP captures various new policy instruments and suggests policy changes under the following themes:

1. Nurturing Research, Development & Innovation
2. Strengthening the Intellectual Property Regime
3. Facilitating Access to Funding
4. Enabling Shared Infrastructure and Resource Sharing
5. Creating Conducive Regulations, Standards, and Certifications
6. Attracting Human Resources & Initiating Capacity Building
7. Promoting Procurement & Adoption
8. Ensuring Policy & Program Interlinkages
9. Sustaining Deep Tech Startups

The draft NDSTP is available here.

We are preparing a response for this draft NDTSP. In this regard, we are requesting your feedback on this draft policy by August 31, 2023. 

Kindly write to garima@nasscom.in and tejasvi@nasscom.in. 

Startup India 5 years journey

 The government has come out with report card after a 5 year jouney. 

Has India reached the inflection point? The billions of dollars going into startups represent large bets on distant outcomes, not value generation by way of revenues.

Startup India action plan

The most important feature of action plan is about BUSINESS. 
Relaxed Norms of Public Procurement for Startups.

Objective To provide an equal platform to Startups (in the manufacturing sector) vis-à-vis the experienced entrepreneurs/ companies in public procurement.

 

Details Typically, whenever a tender is floated by a Government entity or by a PSU, very often the eligibility condition specifies either “prior experience” or “prior turnover”. Such a stipulation prohibits/ impedes Startups from participating in such tenders. At present, effective April 1, 2015 Central Government, State Government and PSUs have to mandatorily procure at least 20% from the Micro Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME). In order to promote Startups, Government shall exempt Startups (in the manufacturing sector) from the criteria of “prior experience/ turnover” without any relaxation in quality standards or technical parameters. The Startups will also have to demonstrate requisite capability to execute the project as per the requirements and should have their own manufacturing facility in India. 

AP INNOVATION & START-UP POLICY

AP govt has placed on web its draft policy promoting innovation and startups in the new state. TePP Outreach centers established in ANU, Guntur and SPMV, Tirupath several years back are probably the only active incubators in the state.

Innovation policy is a part of blueprint on IT Policy and action plan inviting proposals to manage incubators at Visakhapatnam,  Kakinada and Tiruathi. 

Highlights:

• the objective is - an entrepreneur in every family,
• the incubator at Visakhapatnam is a 3 story building with 50,000 sq.ft.
• the fiscal incentives for IT promotion  include patent cost reimbursement to the companies having their headquarters in Andhra Pradesh, subject to a limit of Rs. 5 lakh (0.5 mil) per domestic patent awarded and Rs. 10 lakh (1 Mil) per international patent awarded. 
• The targets -100 Incubators & Accelerators, 5,000 Companies & Start Ups to be incubated, One million sft of Incubation Space to be developed, Venture Capital of Rs 1000 cr to be mobilized for Innovation.
• Colleges shall offer 20% relaxation in attendance and 5% Grace marks for those students who join an incubator,
• distribute Rasberry Pi & Start-up boxes to ignite the imagination of students,
• Innovation and Transformation academy would be established in Tirupati. 
• The government will create an Innovation Fund of Rs.100 crore (1 billion) for entrepreneurs and businesses. The Fund will be in the nature of Fund of Funds. It does not invest directly into startup companies. It shall paricipate in the Capital of Venture Capital Funds, upto 15%. The VC Fund in turn is free to invest in startups located in AP, basing on its own criteria. 
• Government would host a cloud sever that would connect all the incubation centers across the state. This server would be beneficial to all the start-ups at low or nominal costs. Based on the requirement, Government would procure Enterprise versions of key software required for testing and other purposes. These software and Labs can be utilised by the companies in the incubation space at low or nominal charges. 
• An empowered ‘Andhra Pradesh Innovation Council (APInC)’ would be formed with the representatives of industry and the other stakeholders.