Energizing North East Innovation: NEVF Fuels 37 Startups, Igniting Jobs and Economic Flourish
- ByStartupStory | August 10, 2023
New Delhi [India], July 19: The North East Venture Fund (NEVF) initiated by the government has successfully funded 37 startups since its inception in 2017, announced G Kishan Reddy, the Minister of Development of the North East Region. In response to a query in the Lok Sabha, he shared that the cumulative investment in these startups amounted to Rs 56.84 crores.
Among the 37 startups, the majority, 24 in total, hailed from Assam, followed by six from Manipur, three from Meghalaya, two from Arunachal Pradesh, and one each from Tripura and Sikkim. These enterprises have collectively generated 4,812 employment opportunities thus far, with 3,906 positions filled by male employees and 906 by female employees. Notably, 4,076 positions were unskilled roles, while 736 were skilled. Remarkably, Assam emerged as the leader in job creation, contributing to over 4,000 employment opportunities.
The NEVF was established as a close-ended fund with a targeted corpus of Rs 100 crore. This goal was achieved through contributions of Rs 30 crore from the North East Development Finance Corporation (NEDFi), Rs 25 crore from the Small Industries Development Bank of India, and Rs 45 crore from the Ministry of Development of the North East Region. It’s worth noting that the fund from MoDNER was extended to NEDFi as an interest-free loan, repayable in a lump sum at the end of a 15-year period.
In June of this year, the government approved revised guidelines for the “Promotion of MSMEs in North Eastern Region (NER) and Sikkim” scheme. These updated guidelines will be implemented during the 15th Finance Commission Cycle (FY22-FY26) to provide financial support aimed at enhancing the productivity, competitiveness, and capacity building of MSMEs based in the NER and Sikkim. The original guidelines for the scheme were approved in 2019.
Under the revised guidelines, the Ministry of MSME has increased the upper limit of financial assistance for various aspects of the scheme. For example, the maximum financial support to state governments for establishing new and modernizing existing Mini Technology Centres has been raised from Rs 10 crore to Rs 13.50 crore, covering 90 per cent of the project cost. The new guidelines prioritize projects aimed at creating common facilities to supplement manufacturing, testing, packaging, R&D, product and process innovations, and training related to natural resources like fruits, spices, agriculture, forestry, sericulture, bamboo, etc., prevalent in the NER and Sikkim regions.
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