Bhubaneswar: The State Cabinet today approved the new start-up policy of the Odisha government to promote entrepreneurship in the state through provision of incentives for start-up ventures.
Briefing media persons after the meeting, chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi said the policy would chart a road map to place Odisha among the top three investment destinations in the country by 2020.
The state government has planned to set up 1000 start-ups in five years.
Padhi said a Start-up Capital Infrastructure Fund (up to Rs 25 crore) would be provided by the state government to the Department of MSME through budgetary provision to provide monthly assistance to young entrepreneurs.
The state government in December last year had announced that it would formulate a start-up policy with an objective to set up 1000 start-ups in the state in five years.
The Odisha Start-up Policy (OSP), 2016, will be unveiled by the chief minister at an investors meet in Bengaluru on August 26.
The OSP envisages Odisha being among the top three start-up hubs in the country by 2020 through strategic partnerships, conducive ecosystem, investments and policy intervention.
"The policy will be implemented within five years and comprises of three Is— Institutions, Industry and Incubation," the chief secretary said.
The implementation of the policy would be monitored by a Startup Council headed by the Chief Secretary and a Review Committee headed by Principal Secretary MSME, he said.
The policy envisages usher in an innovative start-up ecosystem through creation of world class incubation centres, funding and supporting incentives structure at par with other states.
The State Cabinet also approved a proposal for formation of a Higher Education Council with the Higher Education minister as its chairperson.
Padhi said a new legislation would be made to establish a Council for Higher Education to look after the higher education in the state. “The Council, which has already been formed by the state government, will be given statutory backing through legislation. The main purpose of setting up this Council is to access the funds from the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) of the ministry of Higher Education”, he added.
Talking about the constitution of the Council, Padhi said it will be headed by the Higher Education minister as its chairperson while the vice chairperson would be an educationist in the rank of professor with relevant experience. “The Council will have 15 members including three vice chancellors while the remaining members having thorough experience on higher education will be appointed. The Council will act as an overarching body to advise the government about various aspects of higher education. This system, which is presently in place in seven states, will come into force in Odisha after a bill to this effect is passed in the State Assembly”, he noted.
The Cabinet also approved the GST Bill of the Centre and decided to convene a special session of the State Assembly on September 1 to ratify the GST Constitutional Amendment Bill.
There is provision that the bill should be ratified by at least 50 percent of the states of India by September 8, Padhi added.
Keeping the ensuing Nuakhai festival in Western Odisha, the Cabinet decided to defer the beginning of the monsoon session of the State Assembly from September 7 to September 21.