Prime Minister's vision of Startup India gets a new fillip as the the Chattisgarh government recently launched 'Start-up Chhattisgarh' initiative to foster entrepreneurship and promote innovation.

Talking at the event Chief Minister Raman Singh said that,

Youths have no dearth of ideas. Lots of creative ideas take shape in their mind. They should convert them into business ideas according to the need of market to provide facilities to people at lower rates in a convenient manner. They need to be fearless to bring their ideas into commercial products, he said.

The function was held at Shri Shankaracharya Institute of Professional Management & Technology in Sejbahar area, which was attended by a large number of entrepreneurs and youths.

As part of the initiative, 14 special camps will be set up in Chhattisgarh, which would be used as a platform to present ideas and the best out of them would be selected for incubation, he said.

At least 3,000 ideas would be collected through these camps and in the first phase, 36 start-up units selected of these ideas will be developed in next four months, the CM said.

Singh also announced a slew of measures to nurture and support startups.

First 36 startups established in the State would be reimbursed (with) all State government taxes paid by them for first three years. Apart from this, assistance will be given in preparing the project report, quality certifications, technical patent costs, he said.

While the MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) startups shall be eligible for 60 percent subsidy on land premium in government industrial parks, all startups shall be given facility to do self-certifications for various State laws, Singh added.

The CM said subsidy of 75 percent would be given on term loan up to Rs 70 lakh for six years. He also announced the fixed capital subsidy of 35-40 percent up to Rs 3.5 crore, electricity duty exemption for 10 years and stamp duty exemption for land purchase or lease.

On the occasion, Singh narrated how as a Chief Minister he found a solution for improving railway connectivity without budgetary support of railways. He stressed that innovation would be promoted in schools and colleges under 'Atal Innovation Mission'. After the launch of Start-Up India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January, States are supposed to prepare their action plan and start implementation.

Launching 'Startup Chhattisgarh Action Plan 2016', the CM also unveiled a dedicated website (http://www.startupcg. com/"www.startupcg.com) for hand-holding and supporting start-ups in state. Start-up logo and poster for the 'Start-up Chhattisgarh' were also launched.

Also read : Following Startup India initiative, several states plan startup policy for entrepreneurs

Speaking at the event, State Commerce and Industries Minister Amar Agarwal underlined the importance of skill development in the area of entrepreneurship.

For any business to progress, skilled employees are the key and hence a lot of efforts are being made by the Government to skill youth of the state, Agrawal said.

Under this initiative, the State government aims at nurturing startup companies which are much closer to the local environment. The government will give preference to startup in priority sectors like healthcare, animal husbandry and value addition of core sector products. The initiative has been designed in such a way as to attract startup leaders, mentors, angel investors and venture capitalists from across the globe.