Chandigarh offers sops to start-ups filing patent, creating infra

Tribune News Service

Dushyant Singh Pundir

Chandigarh, September 26

To promote entrepreneurship in electric vehicle (EV) mobility in the UT, start-ups registering national and international patents will be reimbursed up to 50 per cent of the cost.

The cost incurred by the start-up in fee and all other costs associated with the registration of IP (intellectual property) rights will be subject to a cap of Rs 2 lakh for national IP rights and Rs 5 lakh for international IP rights.

Eligibility criteria to get incentive

• Start-ups should be registered with Startup India with valid certificate from Centre
• Start-ups must have registered office in Chandigarh
• Should offer product/ services/USP in EV sector/ecosystem
• Benefits under scheme not to be considered an entitlement
• CREST reserves sole right to accept/reject applications

To offer short-term courses

• Admn aims at pushing skill development, training and job creation, as EV manufacturing and servicing need skilled manpower
• Will promote industry-led e-Mobility Centre of Excellence for advanced electric and automotive research in tie-up with leading institutions/angel networks/industrial units
• Short-term courses on e-mobility, EV supply equipment, repair and maintenance, battery making & upkeep to be introduced by Education & Transport Departments

However, the incentive will be provided only to first 10 eligible patents, according to the Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy notified recently by the UT Administration in order to make Chandigarh a ‘Model EV City’ by achieving one of the highest penetration of zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) amongst all Indian cities by the end of the policy period of five years.

Aimed at fostering research and innovation in electric mobility and promoting entrepreneurship in the space, the UT would support the objectives through entrepreneurship development and for that electric vehicle start-ups would be encouraged with incentives, said an official.

On developing infrastructure, the UT will grant Rs 3,000 per seat (for training) on a monthly basis with maximum incentive of Rs 18,000 per month only for first 10 start-ups related to zero emission mobility for the policy period.

To avail the incentive, the start-ups should be registered with Startup India with valid certificate from the Government of India. Only those start-ups that have a registered office in the UT will be eligible under this scheme.

Also, only those start-ups that have their product/services/USP in the EV-sector/ecosystem can reap the benefits. However, under no circumstances will the benefits under this scheme be considered an entitlement and the Chandigarh Renewal Energy and Science & Technology Promotion Society (CREST), nodal agency for implementation of the EV policy, will reserve the sole right to accept or reject applications.

Apart from encouraging startups, the UT Administration will promote industry-led e-Mobility Centre of Excellence (CoE) for advanced electric and automotive research in partnership with leading academic institutions/angel networks/ industry partners in Chandigarh.

With this policy, the UT Administration also intends to push skill development, training and job creation, as electric vehicle manufacturing and servicing require skilled manpower, which varies from conventional automobiles.

In order to ensure smooth transition to electric mobility, the UT will undertake special efforts for skill development in electric vehicles.

For this, short-term courses on electric mobility, electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), repair and maintenance, battery manufacturing and maintenance will be developed and introduced by the Education Department in collaboration with the Transport Department, Chandigarh.

As such, polytechnics will offer two-week courses on electric vehicle awareness for skill upgrade. The Chandigarh Administration, in partnership with relevant/interested original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and service providers, will develop skill enhancement centres to deliver vocational courses on the EV ecosystem. The skill enhancement centres will aim to train internal combustion engine (ICE) mechanics/workforce in repair and service of EVs and charging stations.

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