The Indian state of Bihar is setting up a startup policy to offer a zero-interest seed fund, among other things. The government will provide startups with a grant of Rs. 3 lakhs for product development, and training.
Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, the state’s industry minister, unveiled the Bihar Startup Policy on July 29th to boost entrepreneurship in Bihar.
Under the Bihar Startup Policy, the state government provides a 10-year interest-free initial capital of INR 10 lakh to enterprises. If a business joins in an accelerator program, it will also get INR 3 Lakh for product development and training.
In addition to the Bihar Startup Policy, Hussain has established a startup portal for young entrepreneurs who want to take use of the platform’s benefits.
Hussain stated that firms who win angel funding will earn an additional 2% of the overall investment as a success fee from the state government.
“If a company is successful in getting funds from an angel investor but still need extra cash, they seek government assistance because there is a provision for a matching loan set up under the Startup Fund Trust of Bihar’s industries department,” he explained.
Furthermore, in order to encourage women entrepreneurs in Bihar, the state government would provide a 5% bonus to female entrepreneurs in comparison to male entrepreneurs.
Women will be provided 5% more financing under every initiative led by startup policy, including a grant of INR 10.5 Lakh seed capital and an investment sum of INR 3.15 Lakh for product development if they join in an accelerator program, under 5 percent additional provisions.
Similarly, startup founders from the schedule caste (SC) and schedule tribe (ST) will be offered an additional 15% provision under the startup policy, such as a grant of INR 11.5 Lakh seed fund and an investment sum of INR 3.45 Lakh for participating in accelerator programs, according to the minister.
In addition, the Bihar government will begin accepting applications for startup seed grants in the coming month, according to Sanjeev Kumar, technical director of Bihar’s Udyog Vibhag Department of Industries.
The minister also stated that the state government will give co-working space to entrepreneurs in order to promote their engagement in Bihar’s economy. To take use of all of the above-mentioned Bihar Startup Policy benefits, entrepreneurs must first register on the state’s newly built startup site.
Several state governments, notably Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi, have developed state-specific startup regulations in recent months to help the startup environment.
Furthermore, the Centre has incentivized businesses in India through a variety of programs such as the Startup India Seed Fund, Startup India Initiative, and Startup Leadership Program, among others.
So far, the country’s unicorn club has 105 firms from various industries, with the most recent entry being layer-1 blockchain network 5ire. 5ire became a unicorn after raising $100 million with a post-money valuation of $1.5 billion.
