As many as 44,534 startups have been recognised by the department for the promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) as of February 24 this year, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash said Startup India is a flagship initiative of the government launched on January 16, 2016. The initiative aims at fostering entrepreneurship and promoting innovation by creating an ecosystem that is conducive to the growth of startups.
“Since, the launch of Startup India initiative, a total of 44,534 startups have been recognised by the DPIIT as on February 24, 2021,” he said. The recognised startups are eligible for several benefits under the Startup India initiative. They avail tax exemptions besides other support measures. As many as 339 startups have been granted income tax exemptions till January 2021. In a separate reply, he said startups are eligible for an 80 per cent rebate in patent filing fees and 50 per cent on trademark filing fees.
“Till date, 5,253 applications for patents have been filed by startups under the SIPP (startups intellectual property protection) Scheme, out of which 514 patents have been granted. Till November 2020, total number of Trademark applications filed – 12,264,” he added. About the fund of funds scheme, he said as of December 1, 2020, an amount of Rs 1,322.05 crore stands released to SIDBI, out of which Rs 500 crore was given in 2015-16; Rs 100 crore in 2016-17; Rs 431.30 crore in 2019-20 and Rs 290.75 crore in 2020-21.
