Itanagar, Oct 13 Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Tuesday announced new initiatives to boost the state’s startup and investment ecosystem.
Speaking at a programme marking the graduation of Cohort 4 and the commencement of Cohort 5 of the Arunachal Pradesh Entrepreneurship Development Program (APEDP), Khandu announced an Arunachal Creative Economy (ACE) programme and an expert think tank, the Institute for Transforming Arunachal (ITA), which he described as a ‘mini NITI Aayog’ for the state, an official statement said.
The event also marked the inauguration of satellite incubation cells in seven higher education institutions, and the signing of MoUs with five more.
The ACE programme, Khandu said, will give young people with creative ideas a platform to turn them into economic enterprises. The ITA will bring subject experts together to guide policy in sectors such as agriculture and allied activities and tourism.
The CM also said he is in touch with venture capitalists and will convene a conference at which existing Arunachal startups can present their ideas to potential investors.
The chief minister directed the Planning and Investment Department and the APEDP cell to consult the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on state incentives, including possible income tax-related support, for graduating startups that move from proprietorships to private limited companies or LLPs.
Started in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, APEDP has helped launch more than 150 startups, the chief minister said. Arunachal Pradesh was among the top three states in the National Startup Ranking Framework on the occasion of 10 years of Startup India, and the only Northeast state to be so recognised, he said.
Intake under the programme has been doubled from 50 to 100 startups, and seed money has been raised from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh and from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 8 lakh. The roughly 100 Cohort 5 entrepreneurs will undergo a nine-month incubation at the Arunachal Pradesh Innovation and Investment Park (APIIP), with mentorship from reputed institutions including IIM.
On the occasion, the chief minister also launched the YES (Youth Empowerment Sphere) Arunachal portal, a single window on APIIP for Central and state schemes, and urged youth to take part in the National Innovation Challenge under Sewa Sankalp Abhiyan. He thanked NITI Aayog for establishing Atal Tinkering Labs in the state’s schools.
He encouraged entrepreneurs to explore the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector, saying that banking networks can help with capital and, where required, land.
MSMEs, he said, contribute around 31 per cent of India’s GDP and 45 per cent of its exports.
He also highlighted the Centre’s UNNATI scheme for the Northeast and the state’s Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Swavalamban Yojana, Chief Minister Paryatan Vikas Yojana and Atma Nirbhar scheme for agriculture, horticulture and fisheries.
On the state’s economic prospects, the chief minister said hydropower projects totalling 19,000-MW are at various stages of work, and that five mineral blocks, including graphite and vanadium, have been auctioned in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Coal and Mines.
With more blocks to follow and rare earth deposits to be explored, he said Arunachal could shift from a deficit to a surplus budget, freeing more resources for public welfare.
Under the Rising North East Investment Summit, five investments worth Rs 809 crore have been grounded, with promised investments of Rs 7,941 crore under pursuit. He appealed to local communities to support investors and make Arunachal an investor-friendly destination.
Khandu credited women-led development and the self-help group movement, which now involves around 1.5 lakh active women, for the state’s progress, and called for a strong rural economy as the basis of a Viksit Arunachal by 2047.
The chief minister urged the young entrepreneurs to keep learning about government policy, company law, the Arunachal Pradesh State Industrial and Investment Policy and the new labour laws.
He also urged entrepreneurs to build on the state’s 20 Geographical Indication (GI) tags through value addition and digital marketing.
(PTI News)
