The BJP government published an infographic titled ‘Harnessing yuva shakti through self-employment’ on the 48-months portal. The infographic makes four claims about self-employment related schemes of Startup India and MUDRA. This article is a fact check of these claims. The BJP government published an infographic titled ‘Harnessing yuva shakti through self employment’ on the 48 months portal. The infographic makes four claims about self-employment related schemes of Startup India and MUDRA. This article is a fact check of these claims. For how many years are start-ups provided with tax relief? The first claim is that, ‘Under Startup India: tax relief for three consecutive years out of a block of seven years for start-ups’ is granted. As per the official website of the scheme, ‘Startup India is a flagship initiative of the Government of India, intended to build a strong ecosystem that is conducive for the growth of startup businesses, to drive sustainable economic growth and generate large scale employment opportunities. The Government through this initiative aims to empower startups to grow through innovation and design’ As per the response to a Lok Sabha question, Startup definition has been amended whereby an entity shall be considered a ‘Startup’ up to 7 years (earlier 5 years). According to another response to a Lok Sabha question, one of the salient features of the Startup India scheme is tax exemptions to startups for 3 years. As per the official website, more than 14000 startups are recognized and 170 have been funded till date. Claim: Start up India: tax relief for three consecutive years out of a block of seven years for start-ups. Fact: An entity shall be considered a startup for up to 7 years and is given tax exemption for 3 years. Hence, the claim is TRUE. But the actual number of startups that benefitted from the tax exemption is not available. Are start-ups allowed to issue ESOPs to promoters working as employees? The second claim is that, under the Startup India scheme, ‘Startups are allowed to issue ESOPs to promoters working as employees.’ ESOP stands for Employee Stock Ownership Plan wherein the whole-time directors, officers or employees of a company are provided ownership or shared in the company at no upfront cost. These are usually included as a part of the employee remuneration. The Companies (Share Capital and Debentures) Rules, 2014 made under the Companies Act of 2013 do not allow ESOPs being issued to promoters. These rules are applicable to all the companies that are not listed and hence are not covered by the relevant SEBI guidelines. In the year 2016, the government amended these rules to exclude startups recognized by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) from these regulations for a period of five years from the date of its incorporation or registration. Hence Startups recognized by DIPP can issue ESOPs to promoters for up to five years from the date of its incorporation or registration. Claim: Startups are allowed to issue ESOPs to promoters working as employees. Fact: The relevant rules under the Companies act have been amended in 2016 to allow startups recognized by the government to issue ESOPs to promoters for up to five years from the date of its incorporation or registration. Hence, the claim is TRUE. But it has to be noted that relaxation is applicable only for startups recognized by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). How many loans have been sanctioned under the MUDRA yojana? The third claim is that, ‘12 crore mudra loans sanctioned since April 2015.’ The Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) is a scheme launched in 2015 for providing loans up to 10 lakh rupees to the non-corporate, non-farm small/micro enterprises. These loans are classified as MUDRA loans under PMMY. These loans are given by Commercial Banks, RRBs, Small Finance Banks, Cooperative Banks, MFIs and NBFCs. The borrower can approach any of the lending institutions mentioned above or can apply online through the portal. As per the response provided to a Lok Sabha question, the government stated that over 13.47 crore loans amounting to more than Rs. 6.37 lakh crore have been sanctioned under PMMY as of August 2018, since inception of the scheme. The dashboard of the PMMY website also shows the number of loans and amount sanctioned each financial year. However, it has to noted that the focus on the MSME sector is not a new phenomenon. The first NDA government launched the Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for MSMEs in August 2000 to provide guarantee cover for collateral free credit facilities extended to micro and small enterprises (MSEs).