Image Source : FILE/PTI
Morung Express News
Dimapur | February 5
The number of people employed by startup companies in Nagaland is increasing, but there is still a long way to go in terms of offering substantial opportunities to its citizens, according to official data.
Employment in startups in Nagaland was 9 in 2018, 10 in 2019, and 32 in 2020, informed data provided by the Minister of State, Ministry of Commerce & Industry Som Parkash in reply to an ‘Unstarred Question’ in the Lok Sabha on February 3.
The data was as on December 30, 2020. However, it was not clear whether the data pertained to standalone year-wise figure or a single year or cumulative.
The Startup India campaign, a flagship initiative of the Government of India ‘intended to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and startups in the country,’ was first announced by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi during a speech on August 15, 2015.
In Nagaland, the campaign gained momentum in 2019 with the appointment of the Department of Industries & Commerce as the Nodal department to implement the Start-up Policy with an aim to “accelerate and promote local entrepreneurs in the State of Nagaland.”
A dedicated portal for the ‘Startup India in Nagaland’ (www.startup.nagaland.gov.in) was also launched in August16, 2019 with the primary aim of enabling Startup companies to “access the various resources of the Startup Eco System available in the State.”
“Startup India in Nagaland aims to make Nagaland as one of the top Startup destinations in India by providing the most enabling ecosystem to support and nurture startup entrepreneurship in the State,” the portal informed.
To “facilitate the growth of at least 500 start-ups in the next five years, with a focus on establishing innovative ‘Made in Nagaland’ products and services,” is another primary objective.
With just 29 Startups registered on startup.nagaland.gov.in, according to latest information available on the portal, the status so far is not encouraging.
Employment in NE, India
Meanwhile, as per the Ministry’s data, in the North-East, employment in Startups in 2020 was highest in Assam at 877, followed by Tripura at 765 and Manipur at 125.
Nagaland was fourth with 32 while Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Sikkim had 2 each. The data for Arunachal Pradesh was given as ‘0’ in 2020, though there were 10 and 12 employments respectively in 2018 and 2019.
“The above data is self-certified information which is given by Startups during filling of Startup recognition form,” the Ministry added.
Overall, employment in Startup companies stood at 1,74,315 as on December 30, 2020 with Maharashtra leading the tally with 34,008, followed by 28,840 in Karnataka and 19,511 in Delhi.
According to the reply, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry so far has no data on the contribution of Startups in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
No such data was also centrally compiled by the Department on the number of Startups affected during COVID-19 pandemic including the closed and uninterrupted; and whether the private investment in Startups stopped or declined during the pandemic
However, to boost private investments in Startups, the Government of India has launched Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) and Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), it added.
