Kathmandu, May 12

With an objective to promote entrepreneurship and start-ups in the country, the government has called on start-ups to submit a proposal for grants worth Rs 500,000 to Rs five million.

Issuing a notice today, the National Planning Commission (NPC) has asked different start-ups that meet government-set standards to submit a grant proposal within 30 days. However, start-ups submitting the proposals must meet the Procedure for Innovation Initial Capital Grants Standard of the government.

As per the standard prepared by NPC, start-ups working in the field of information technology, agriculture, energy, health, tourism, education and industry, among others, will be able to register proposals for the grant. Start-ups submitting their proposals must have business cost of minimum Rs one million and maximum Rs 100 million and can claim only 50 per cent of their business cost as grant from the government.

As per NPC, individuals or organisations inventing goods or services for public interest through self-study or research, small and medium enterprises, and firms that produce goods and services using innovative knowledge, among others, can also submit their proposals for the grant. Along with this, any self-employed body that creates high-quality inventions and develops systems using technology in a short time can also submit a proposal for the grant.

NPC has said the proposals received for the grant will be judged on the basis of 13 different parameters, including start-ups that save time and cost, reduce price, increase quality, use creativity, utilise sophisticated traditional knowledge, increase public interest, and ensure quality goods or services, among others.

As per the provision in the Procedure for Innovation Initial Capital Grants Standard, a committee will be formed under the coordination of an NPC member and joint secretaries of different other related ministries to evaluate the proposals and award grants to deserving start-ups.

As per the procedure, the committee will recommend the Ministry of Finance for necessary grants to deserving start-ups. The grant amount will be provided in three instalments — 30 per cent as first instalment, 40 per cent after half the work is completed and the remaining 30 per cent after completion of the project.

Meanwhile, related ministries will monitor the use of the grant and project development, as per the procedure.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on May 12, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.