National Startup Advisory Council: This Is What It Will Do

The ministry of commerce has officially announced the establishment of the National Startup Advisory Council to provide representations to the Indian startup ecosystem during policy-making processes. The council will be led by union minister Piyush Goyal.

“National Startup Advisory Council to advise the Government on measures needed to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and startups in the country to drive sustainable economic growth and generate large scale employment opportunities,” the ministry’s official statement read.

Although the commerce ministry hasn’t finalised on the name of the members yet, the central government will be nominating the members for a period of two years.

The ministry has clarified that the advisory council will consist of founders of successful startups, entrepreneurs, representatives from incubators and investors, along with representatives from government departments and regulators that deal with startups.

A previous report stated that the ministry is considering getting Ola cofounder Bhavish Aggarwal, BYJU’s cofounder Byju Raveendran, Infosys cofounders Nandan Nilekani and Kris Gopalakrishnan, and 3one4 Capital’s founding partner Siddarth Pai onboard.

What Will The National Startup Advisory Council Do

The National Startup Advisory Council is expected to brainstorm on ways to boost the Indian startup ecosystem and encourage innovation among the Indian citizens, especially students. The ministry’s press release clarified that the council will have to focus on innovation across all the economic sectors, including semi-urban and rural areas.

Moreover, the advisory council will also have to suggest measures to the government to “facilitate public organisation” that will lead to innovative solutions for public service delivery, promote creation, protection, and commercialisation of intellectual property rights.

The National Startup Advisory Council will also recommend alternatives to reduce the regulatory compliance and cost on startups to promote ease of capital generation, incentivise domestic capital and mobilise global capital, the press release stated.

According to sources close to the matter, the advisory council will hold quarterly meetings. The first meeting is expected to take place before the upcoming Union Budget 2020 to discuss the issues and problems Indian startups have been facing. Inc42’s source added that capital gains tax exemption for investors could be one of the issues discussed in the first meeting.

Previously, the Central government and its several departments have set up such committees to take a look into startup-specific issues and make recommendations. However, this advisory council will be the first overarching body to represent the Indian startup community.