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BUSINESS EYE FEBRUARY 03, 2023 | The Indian Eye 30

Modi Govt. to give boost to startup

ecosystem in the forthcoming budget

Indian Embassy in Kathmandu organized India-Nepal Startup Connect to bring together

the start-up ecosystems of the two countries

OUR BUREAU
New Delhi/Kathmandu

he government is expected to
announce in the forthcom-
Ting Budget steps to further
strengthen the startup ecosystem
in the country and address inverted
duty issues in certain sectors to pro-
mote domestic manufacturing, offi-
cial sources said. Fiscal incentives un-
der the production linked incentive
(PLI) scheme to some more sectors
are also likely to be announced in the
Budget, which will be presented on
February 1.
Besides, the government may
consider providing funds to infra-
structure projects approved by the
Network Planning Group (NPG),
constituted under the PM Gati Shak-
ti initiative, they said.
On October 13 last year, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi launched
the Gati Shakti - National Master
Plan aimed at developing integrat- Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently visited Startup Exhibition and inspected the products on display (ANI)
ed infrastructure to reduce logistics
costs. The NPG has representations encouraging private investments in nance Track of the G20 during In- “The focus area of this event,
from various connectivity infrastruc- the startup ecosystem. dia’s presidency. Startup connect is very much consis-
ture ministries/ departments involv- “The commerce and industry “This year is a special year for us, tent with the vision of the Govern-
ing their heads of network planning ministry has suggested steps to fur- it’s the 75th year of India’s indepen- ment of Nepal for having envisioned
division for unified planning and in- ther promote ease of doing business dence and also, the 75th year of the Digital Nepal which has been formu-
tegration of the proposals. for startups,” one of the sources said. Nepal-India diplomatic relationship. lated “Digital Nepal 2020” with the
All these departments approach Meanwhile, as part of the ini- This year is also important as India is goal of having an economically pros-
the NPG first for approval before tiative, the Indian Embassy in Kath- also heading the G20 forum, as you perous digital society. This is being
making a DPR (detailed project re- mandu on Tuesday organized In- know it is a group of the 20 largest contributed by with priority of Nepal
port) at the planning stage. Inverted dia-Nepal Startup Connect to bring economies of the world. Under G20 Rastra Bank for having an emphasis
duty structure refers to taxation of together the start-up ecosystems chairmanship, India has put a special on digital financial services and cel-
inputs at higher rates than finished of the two countries in association emphasis on promoting digital pub- ebrating this year 2022-23 as digital
products that results in build-up of with the Confederation of Nepalese lic goods,” Ambassador Srivastava payment promotion year,” Governor
credits and cascading costs. Industries Young Entrepreneurs Fo- said addressing the event. He also Adhikari said.
The government has already tak- rum (CNIYEF). mentioned the importance of digital Addressing the event Joint Secre-
en a series of steps to promote start- The event focused on fostering public goods like JAM trinity (Jan tary Ministry of Industry Commerce
ups in the country. Under the Start- connections between India and Ne- Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and Mobile and Supplies Nepal, Babu Ram Gau-
up India initiative, Fund of Funds pal’s startup ecosystems. The event Number) in enabling financial inclu- tam and assistant manager at Startup
for Startups (FFS) scheme, Startup celebrated 75 years of India-Nepal sion and startups. India Anubhav Kumar Das made a pre-
India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) diplomatic relations as well as 75 At the event, Adhikari elabo- sentation on the Startup India Scheme.
and Credit Guarantee Scheme for years of India’s independence. The rated on the theme of Digital Nepal The Startup India scheme was
Startups (CGSS) are implemented Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank and spoke about the year 2023 being launched on January 16, 2016, and has
to provide capital at various stages of Maha Prasad Adhikari was the Chief Nepal’s Digital Payment Promotion supported more than 4200 startups in
the business cycle of a startup. Guest at the event. Addressing the Year. He called for greater collabo- India through its Seed Fund. CEO of
The government launched Start- inaugural session, the Ambassador ration on fin-tech between India and Paynearby Anand Bajaj gave an over-
up India initiative in January 2016 of India to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava Nepal, identifying cross-border pay- view of how the fintech sector in In-
with an intent to build a strong eco- highlighted India’s G20 Presidency ments and QR payments as possible dia has evolved with support from the
system for nurturing innovation and and Nepal’s participation in the Fi- areas of cooperation. government, regulators and industry.

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