Startup India Becomes Lightning Fast: Government Grants Approval To One Startup Every Hour In May

In a major boost to the Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi's flagship programmes, StartUp India and Make in India, the government in May 2019 worked on a rocket pace to recognise one startup per hour, making them eligible for tax breaks and incentives, reports Livemint.

According to Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), in total, 18,861 startups have been recognised under the Startup India programme of which 814 such entities were added to the list of beneficiaries in May alone.

In February 2019, the government had relaxed the rules in favour of startups to grant them relief from tax demands for sale of shares at a premium to their fair market value. The move also expanded the eligibility of companies that could benefit from the move. The relief from the said angel tax was made effectively retrospectively to extend the benefits to all eligible startups.

As per Ramesh Abhishek, secretary at DPIIT, 1,87,004 jobs have been reported by 16,105 DPIIT-recognised startups, which was more than 11 direct jobs per startup. With each direct job leading to 3X indirect jobs, total jobs created by these startups are estimated at more than 5.6 lakh, Abhishek added.