PM Modi's 'start-up' scheme an old idea in a new package: Congress

Downplaying the new 'Start-up India' movement launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress on Sunday said that the concept was nice only as a 'phrase' and claimed that it was an 'old idea' which was being presented in a 'new package'.

"These are nice jumlas (phrases). Whether the plan will succeed or not will only be decided once the schemes are set in action. There is nothing new here as we have been supporting the start of new companies since ages. You can see that thousands of companies have emerged in India since freedom, so it's not a new concept," Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar told ANI.

He asserted that the Prime Minister was proficient when it came to bottling old schemes in new containers and then presenting it as a 'solution'.

"Not sure if this scheme will actually aid in the country's development because the truth is that we are going back in every field," he added.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Modi unveiled the Start-up India scheme where a announced a list of initiatives for the start-up industries in the nation including three years of tax and compliance breaks aimed at cutting onerous government regulations and red tape.

He also spoke of plans to set up a Rs 10,000 crore start-up fund, first announced by finance minister Arun Jaitley in the interim budget of 2014-15.

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"Start-ups will be exempted from paying income tax on their income for the first three- years. No inspection for three-years of start-up businesses in respect of labour, environment law compliance post self-certification. Credit guarantee scheme will be introduced for start-ups in next 4 years, funds of around Rs. 500 crores will be given every year. A fund of Rs 10,000-crore will be created for funding of start-ups," the Prime Minister said.