Govt promises easy starts, exits for startups

The government is working to make it easy for budding entrepreneurs to start a

business or exit from it, giving boost to the Indian startup ecosystem, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday.

"I understand that starting a startup is as much important as somebody wants to exit from it. The government is working to make the exit also (easy)," Sitharaman said at the 'Startup India' conference in New Delhi.

She said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is working "hard" on the Bankruptcy Code.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2015, which seeks to provide an easy exit option for insolvent and sick companies, has been referred to a 30-member joint committee of the Members of Parliament for further scrutiny.

"I am sure with these (measures), we will be doing the right thing for the startups" so that they stay here in India "and not look at having a domicile somewhere else," the commerce and industry minister said.

She also said that after the announcement by the prime minister about 'Startup India', the ministry was engaged with different departments to create an enabling ecosystem for such ventures in the country.

"We...have to see how best we can remove the clutter in such a way that your (startups) core business interest are the ones in which you are going to focus rather than think about what compliance have to be attended to," she added.

Further, the minister said that the number of youths looking for government jobs is fast coming down and those providing some employment are actually growing.

"...that entrepreneurship is no longer being condemned in the name of 'jugaad'. It is not 'jugaad'. Indians have come back to establish for themselves and to prove for themselves that they have something to contribute," she added.

Speaking at the event, Secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Amitabh Kant said that 'Startup India' initiative will help in turning youth from "job seekers to job creators".

Kant said that Indian startup system has taken-off and the country would soon see large number of young people joining the workforce.

World Bank country director Onno Ruhl said India needs to grow and innovate and create jobs as one million people enter labour force every month.

"We will support the government in its effort to promote startups," he said.