Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said on Saturday that the state government has set up a venture fund of Rs 10 crore under “Him” start-up scheme to promote and encourage the new entrepreneurs of the state.

He was speaking in the fourth chapter of the Himalayan Start up Track organised by Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi through video conference from New Delhi.

He said Start up India was the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi which has given wings to the dreams of entrepreneurs and the programme is contributing to the economy of the country. He said that IIT Mandi is contributing significantly during the last four years in this direction and more than 100 Start ups in the country are getting benefitted through Catalyst Incubation Programme being executed by IIT Mandi. It is also a matter of great pride that the prestigious institution ranked 7th on the Entrepreneurship and Start up Index in the country, he added. He said that the state has got applause at national level for efforts in this direction. Thakur said that in order to create self employment opportunities, Mukhyamantri Start up Yojna has been started and Rs 25000 per month is being given for a period of one year to youth coming up with innovative ideas under the programme besides providing a grant of maximum ten lakhs for executing, implementing and marketing the idea.

He added that Rs two lakh financial assistance for filing patents of Start up at national level and Rs 10 lakh for doing it at international level is being provided to the entrepreneurs. He said the programme is providing a great boost to talented youth who are exploring self employment ventures, he added.

The scheme has a provision of creating awareness under various sectors by setting up of incubation centres in prestigious institutions of state like IIT Mandi, NIT Hamirpur, various government and private universities in the state. He said that an assistance of Rs 30 lakhs for three years through these centres were being provided and added that out of received 818 applications, Incubation Centres have selected 132 Start ups and out of them 54 have been completed. He added that 78 Start ups are in Incubation whereas 30 Start ups are ready.

The chief minister stressed upon developing technology and strengthening the existing technology as it is the backbone of development and growth. He said that it is due to technological advancement that we are able to carry out our activities through virtual mode amidst the challenges posed by Covid.

He said that we are seeing the results of Digital India in our lives today and thanked the vision of the Prime Minister. Industries Minister Bikram Singh said that the state government is encouraging entrepreneurship on a big scale. He thanked the chief minister for setting up a Venture Fund of Rs. 10 crore and starting various innovative schemes for creating self employment avenues for youth.

He detailed out various incentives being given to entrepreneurs in the state.