NEW DELHI, July 27 : Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh informed the Lok Sabha today that giving boost to the “Startup India Standup India” movement announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the ramparts of Red Fort, Union Ministry for Science & Technology has recently supported 604 StartUps and entrepreneurs under “NIDHI” (National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations) programme which was launched in 2016.
He said, the support is offered through the NIDHI component called NIDHI- Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIR) program.
In a statement in the Lok Sabha,the Minister said, the grants have been disbursed in the form of fellowship to the selected aspiring entrepreneurs or startups across the country through a network of 29 Technology Business Incubator (TBIs) who act as a program implementation partner for NIDHI EIR program.
Entrepreneurs-in- Residence (EIR) is the program introduced under the umbrella of National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) by Department of Science & Technology (DST) in the financial year 2016-17. This program aims to inspire and provide support to S&T qualified persons who aspire to be an entrepreneur and has an innovative idea. The NIDHI EIR program is positioned as a pre-incubation program to generate a new pipeline of entrepreneurs or startups.
The main objective of the NIDHI EIR program is to encourage graduating students to take entrepreneurship instead of seeking jobs. The selected NIDHI-EIR support recipient (aspiring entrepreneurs/startups) is eligible for grant up to Rs.30,000/- per month for a period of 12 months. This fellowship is extendable up to 18 months in case of deserving candidates. Since the launch of NIDHI EIR program grant of Rs.19.03 crore has been disbursed to 604 number of aspiring entrepreneurs or startups.
The exact number of Start-Ups supported under the NIDHI-EIR programme State-wise are as follows – Andhra Pradesh-6, Assam-12, Bihar-10, Chhattisgarh-8, Goa-6, Gujarat-33, Haryana-13, Himachal Pradesh-2, Jammu and Kashmir-3, Jharkhand-4, Karnataka-90, Kerala-31, Madhya Pradesh-18, Maharashtra-94, Manipur-1, Odisha-47, Punjab-2, Rajasthan-18, Tamil Nadu-77, Telangana-18, Uttarakhand-6, Uttar Pradesh-54, West Bengal-25, Delhi-25 and Pondicherry-1, totalling 604.
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