Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal held a meeting through Video Conference with the stakeholders of Start-up ecosystem, including developers, leading startups, Angel investors and others, to assess the impact of COVID-19 and lockdown in the country. The meeting was also attended by the Officers from Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, SEBI, CBDT, CBIC, NITI Aayog, and SIDBI.

The Minister stressed the important role being played by Startups in the country as the harbingers of hope and for the future of the country. He said that the country is passing through the unprecedented crisis, and this requires prompt remedial actions. He sought everybody’s cooperation in overcoming the hardships being faced by the industry, particularly the startups. Shri Goyal said that it is the positive spirit of the Startup entrepreneurs that is making them rise to the occasion and trying to find solutions to various problems linked to COVID-30. He welcomed the launch of Action COVID-19 Team (ACT) which is starting a ₹ 100 crore programme, aimed to seed over 50 initiatives through grants to combat the economic fallout of COVID-19 in India. The Minister also welcomed another startup venture which is trying to help the Kirana (small retail shops) stores in Tier-II and Tier-III towns, overcome the issues of supply chain and scarcity of resources. After listening to the various problems and suggestions by the startup stakeholders, Shri Goyal called for collaborative efforts.

In the meeting, it was mentioned that many Start-ups have been working on finding various solutions to COVID-19 issues with focus on preventive, Assistive and curative aspects of the pandemic. Many of the ventures are in the final stage of launch and others will require some more time to take shape. These ventures will require access, funding, validation, scaling-up, and support. A joint committee from various Government departments and industry associations are evaluating these initiatives. The participants raised specific issues with the Officers present in the meeting. Many a solutions were pointed out in the meeting and it was decided that some suggestions of the startup fraternity needs detailed consideration. The Startup representatives raised the concerns, ranging from the question of their survival, liquidity crunch, cash flow and revenue problems, labour matters, and other difficulties in running the ventures due to lockdown, etc.

Startup support measures: coordinated grant and evaluation process to address COVID-19 liquidity, funding and scaling challenges. Government engagement with the startup sector identified needs for access to funding, liquidity support, validation and scaling of COVID 19 related solutions, supply chain assistance for small retailers, and labour and cash flow relief. The Action COVID 19 Team was noted as launching a grant programme to seed initiatives, and a joint committee of government departments and industry associations was assigned to evaluate proposals and recommendations, with officials asked to address specific operational obstacles raised by stakeholders.