Jammu: Administrative Council (AC) which met here under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, approved J&K start-up policy 2024-27 in supersession to the Start-up Policy notified in the year 2018.
The policy has the objective of setting up 2000 new Start-ups in Jammu & Kashmir in the next 5 years.
Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor; Atal Dulloo, Chief Secretary; Mandeep Kumar Bhandari, Principal Secretary to Lieutenant Governor attended the meeting.
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 venture capital fund.
The venture capital fund so created shall invest primarily in recognized start-ups of Jammu & Kashmir. The Department shall work out detailed modalities for creation of venture funds and its usage in consultation with the Finance Department.
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 capping of 25 start-ups per year which is a decision based upon 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 Start-up Policy for a period of three years will be Rs. 39.60 Crores.
In order to nurture and inspire the entrepreneurial talent of J&K by creating a vibrant and robust start-up eco-system 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 a new policy suited to meet model challenges in this sector in the UT of J&K.
The feedback received from various stakeholder consultations by the Industries and Commerce Department, 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 Administrative Secretary, Industries & Commerce.
The policy provides for providing entrepreneurship facilities to students, women and support to the entrepreneurs through Government/ Private/ High Net worth individuals for setting up of start-ups.
