New Delhi: The government is working to make it easy for budding entrepreneurs to start a business or exit from it, giving boost to the Indian startup ecosystem, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on January 16.
"I understand that starting a startup is as much important as somebody wants to exit from it. The government is working to make the exit also (easy)," Sitharaman said at the 'Startup India' conference here. She said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is working "hard" on the Bankruptcy Code.
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2015, which seeks to provide an easy exit option for insolvent and sick companies, has been referred to a 30-member joint committee of the Members of Parliament for further scrutiny.
"I am sure with these (measures), we will be doing the right thing for the startups" so that they stay here in India "and not look at having a domicile somewhere else," the Commerce and Industry Minister said. She also said that after the announcement by the Prime Minister about 'Startup India', the ministry was engaged with different departments to create an enabling ecosystem for such ventures in the country.
"We...have to see how best we can remove the clutter in such a way that your (startups) core business interest are the ones in which you are going to focus rather than think about what compliance have to be attended to," she added.
Further, the minister said that the number of youths looking for government jobs is fast coming down and those providing some employment are actually growing. "...that entrepreneurship is no longer being condemned in the name of 'jugaad'. It is not 'jugaad'. Indians have come back to establish for themselves and to prove for themselves that they have something to contribute," she added.
Speaking at the event, Secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Amitabh Kant said that 'Startup India' initiative will help in turning youth from "job seekers to job creators".
Kant said that Indian startup system has taken-off and the country would soon see large number of young people joining the workforce. World Bank country director Onno Ruhl said India needs to grow and innovate and create jobs as one million people enter labour force every month. "We will support the government in its effort to promote startups," he said.
On ways to improve regulations for startups, Corporate Affairs Secretary Tapan Ray said efficiency in registration is very important and in the next couple of months it will take only 24 hours to register a company.
"As of now there is some complaint that it takes a long time to register companies, so we are going through an action plan to revise the rules... remove rules which are irrelevant for startups," Ray said.
He further said, keeping the startups in mind, a committee has been set up to suggest amendments to Company Laws with regards to managerial remuneration, insider trading norms and private placements. When asked how easy it is for a new age company to come and list in India, Sebi member Saran said stock exchanges have a startup platform, which is called Institutional Trading Platform for which we have done away with detailed object clause which is required in an IPO document.
Economic Affairs Secretary said that the 'Start Up' programme is a real game changer and will bring in investment and facilitate huge amount of job creation. Referring to starting a company in India as a "Chakravyuh", Das said "it is easier to get in than to get out". He said the Bankruptcy and Insolvency law will create a vibrant credit market in India and provide an exit option to entrepreneurs.
