The Directorate of Information Technology, Government of Tripura, has officially launched the Tripura Startup Policy 2024, marking a significant milestone in the state's efforts to promote innovation and entrepreneurship.

The launch event, held at Pragna Bhavan in Agartala, was attended by Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha, IT Minister Pranajit Singha Roy, Chief Secretary Jitendra Kumar Sinha, IT Secretary Kiran Gitte, Director IT Jeya Ragul Geshan B, Panneerselvam Madanagopal, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), MeitY Startup Hub, other senior officials and dignitaries from various states, Entrepreneurs, Students.

The event witnessed enthusiastic participation from startups, academic institutions, and business leaders across Tripura.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister underlined the pivotal role startups play in building a “Viksit Bharat” and urged entrepreneurs to leverage the opportunities provided by the new policy. He emphasized the government’s commitment to nurturing an ecosystem that encourages innovation, creates employment opportunities, and contributes to the economic growth of the state. IT Minister Pranajit Singha Roy highlighted the importance of this policy in attracting investments and urged entrepreneurs to actively engage with the initiatives rolled out by the government.

As per the new “Tripura Start-Up Policy-2024” all recognized Start-Ups will be eligible for one time Grant of Rs.2 Lakhs after receiving Recognition certificate. Reimbursement of Rs20,000 per month will be provided to the recognized Start-Up for the expenses incurred for operational and management of the entity such as electricity bill, rent, internet bandwidth cost etc. for a period of maximum One (1) year from the issue date of StartUp recognition certificate. Women led Start-Ups will be eligible for an additional 10% amount as reimbursement. Physically Challenged Person led Start-Ups will be eligible for an additional 20% amount as reimbursement.

Financial assistance during prototype stage, the need-based assistance up to Rs.10 lakhs will be provided to who has been recognized and certified Startup for hiring of manpower, cost of raw material / components and other related equipment required for the innovative process for the new product development after approval of Proof of Concept (PoC) by State Level Start-Up Council.

Apart from these, up to Rs.5 lakhs will be provided for the introduction of innovative product/ service in the market, GST paid in Tripura by the Startup companies shall be reimbursed as per the Tripura Industrial Investment Promotion Incentive Scheme (TIIPIS), 2022.

 The cost of filing and prosecution of patent application will be reimbursed to the incubated start-up companies subject to a limit of Rs.2 lakh per Indian patent awarded. For foreign patents on a single subject matter, up to Rs.10 lakhs would be reimbursed.

 A grant of Rs.10 Lakhs to set up Incubation centres in the selected institutions will be provided and each Host Educational Institute will get a funding of Rs.5 Lakhs per year as operational cost for the incubation centre.

 A Tri-Infra Fund (Startup Capital Infrastructure fund) with an initial corpus of Rs.25 crores shall be set up to support development of hard and soft infrastructure for the startup ecosystem in the State such as physical infrastructure for incubators including testing labs, design studio, tool rooms, virtual incubators etc.

A venture capital fund with a corpus fund of Rs.50 Cr has been created. Ticket size of the funding to the potential Start-up would be Rs.25 Lakhs to Rs.2 Crore. As part of the program, the Chief Minister handed over a cheque of ₹75 lakh to TalkEng(Agastya), a local edutech startup, from the Tripura Startup Venture Capital Fund.

Additionally, the Chief Minister presented eligibility certificates to ILogitron Technologies pvt. Ltd and Xlayer Technologies Pvt. ltd, 2 companies recognized under the Tripura IT/ITeS Policy. Also, A dedicated Startup Tripura web portal was also launched during the event to provide startups with easy access to resources, support, and information.

To further raise awareness about the policy and its benefits, the government flagged off Startup Spark Vans, which will tour all districts of Tripura to engage with aspiring entrepreneurs and promote the initiatives under the policy. The event also featured an exhibition where dignitaries explored innovative products and services developed by Tripura based startups, showcasing the state’s growing entrepreneurial talent. With the launch of the Tripura Startup Policy 2024 by the Chief Minister, the state government envisions a transformative shift in the state’s entrepreneurial landscape. The policy aims to inspire young innovators, foster the growth of startups, and create numerous employment opportunities, paving the way for a brighter and more prosperous future for the state.