Chandigarh, Nov. 22 -- Six months after the Chandigarh administration rolled out its long-awaited Startup Policy, the working guidelines required for availing subsidies have finally been completed. Officials said the guidelines are now awaiting final approval from the UT chief secretary and are expected to be notified within a week. The policy, which came into effect on April 29, 2025, was introduced nearly seven years behind schedule and was projected as a major catalyst for nurturing the city's entrepreneurial ecosystem. The policy will remain in force for five years from the date of notification. DC Nishant Kumar Yadav, and industries secretary said, "We have sent them to the chief secretary for final approval. We are hopeful that the guidelines will be issued within a week, after which entrepreneurs can start applying for subsidies." As per guidelines, eligible startups must be recognised by the department for promotion of industry and internal trade and must have their office located within Chandigarh. Once an application is submitted, it will be examined and decided upon by the Policy Monitoring and Implementation Committee (PMIC). If the committee finds no discrepancies in eligibility, approval will be granted within 15 days. In case of any gaps, startups will be asked to fulfil the eligibility criteria within the same 15-day window. Although applications will be accepted throughout the year, the PMIC will convene only once every quarter. Work on formulating the Startup Policy began in 2018-two years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the national Startup India initiative, encouraging states and UTs to design region-specific policies. However, repeated administrative delays and policy revisions caused Chandigarh to miss multiple rollout deadlines. In August 2023, the issue was raised in the Lok Sabha, where Som Parkash, Union minister of state for commerce and industry, stated that 335 startups from Chandigarh had been recognised under Startup India. Despite this significant number, the city continued to lack an operational ecosystem to offer incentives and structured support to emerging ventures. Expressing concern over the prolonged delay, Naveen Manglani, vice-president of the Chamber of Chandigarh Industries (CCI), questioned why the administration had taken six months to finalise the guidelines when the policy itself is valid for only five years. He added that the slowdown contradicts the vision outlined in the "Chandigarh 2030 and Beyond" document released in November 2022, which underscored the city's limited employment opportunities, weak industry-academia linkages, and inadequate efforts to impart technical skills aligned with evolving market needs. The vision document had recommended a renewed push to attract digital jobs, revitalise the IT Park, and explore new opportunities such as establishing a film city or media hub to expand employment and entrepreneurial avenues in the region....