As a nation of more than a billion people is embracing technology with welcoming hands, every state across our country has started focusing on their Start-up ecosystem, building on policies to incentivise entrepreneurs to augment their ventures in specific states and often specific sectors. The start-up culture seeped into India a while back and has sown its roots deep into the entrepreneurial status quo. However, metropolitan cities like Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR continue to be the hub of start-ups and quantum of investments. The industry needs to expand into smaller cities to increase opportunities across the country and for better growth of ideas and technologies. This would also bridge the gap between consumers and producers making the market place more digital and convenient. Maharashtra’s State Innovative Start-up Policy 2018 aims to convert the state into a more convenient and successful landscape for the growth and development of Start-ups and innovations before the end of 2023.

About the Policy

The Maharashtra State Innovation Society aims to create an ecosystem for stakeholders to participate in fostering a culture of innovation across Maharashtra and building an environment for Start-ups to excel and drive economic growth. They also plan to nurture innovative thinking from a young age by inducing changes in the curriculum of schools and colleges. 

To sustain economic growth, the state should promote innovative entrepreneurship; which will also help address pressing issues facing the nation and generate employment opportunities. The policy aims to :

• Create employment opportunities for all sections of society, develop robust infrastructure and ease the regulatory framework to spur the development of the startup ecosystem.
• The state will ease the regulatory regime and keep compliance costs to a bare minimum to ease the process of doing business. Necessary changes have been made in terms of Self Certification, Relaxing Laws, Easing Procurement Laws, Patent Filing and Quality Testing Assistance.
• Setting up the Leapfrog Maharashtra portal to create a one-stop page for the entire startup ecosystem and enable knowledge exchange and a single-window clearance system for startups to obtain clearances and approvals in a time-bound manner. 
• Innovation clusters: Based on existing and potential regional economic advantages, local Governments and the local industry and academia are working together to nurture sector-specific startups and establish major urban/rural areas as innovation clusters. 
• The State supports the development of incubators on a Private, Public or Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode in collaboration with higher educational and R&D institutions, and the corporate sector. 
• The State created a mechanism to open up conference rooms, laboratories across the state and Tinkering Labs at the school-level for the holistic development of the startup ecosystem. A multi-facility Startup Park was established to bring incubators, accelerators, investors, mentors and other industry stakeholders under one roof. Startup Villages shall be established in places like Amrav. The State organises a two-day Start-Up Symposium to bring together innovators, incubators, investors, industry associations and academic institutions.
• In association with leading angel investor networks, the State organizes experiential learning workshops to guide aspiring investors. 
• A fund-of-funds will be established with an initial corpus of ₹100 Crore and a total corpus of ₹500 Crore over five years. Investments are made in SEBI-registered funds including early-stage i.e., angel and seed funds. 
• Maharashtra State Innovation Society (MSInS): The MSInS acts as the state level nodal agency for implementing, monitoring and evaluating this policy. 

What is in it for Start-up Entrepreneurs?

With innovation transforming the economic landscape, government bodies plan to foster innovative start-ups by providing connecting communities to share ideas, experience, knowledge and ease the process of doing business which impedes innovation. 

A network of incubators will help cultivate entrepreneurial mindsets and help you connect with relevant stakeholders and seed and angel investors. Simplification of the regulatory environment will make it easier for you to set up your venture in Maharashtra and incentivise Start-up growth in these areas. If you are an entrepreneur looking forward to starting a new venture or expand an existing venture, Maharashtra’s economical landscape will provide you with the best opportunities through the New Innovative Policy 2018. The policy will prove beneficial in connecting you with investors and stakeholders across the country, relaxed laws and additional incentives, funding and infrastructure and help you optimise based on geography and sectors.