Bengaluru: The City, Bengaluru being the world’s youngest startup ecosystem with 37% of the population in the age group of 15-35 years, has been a witness to the launch of over 11,000 startups attracting venture capital inflow worth $ 28 bn recently, stated Meena Nagaraj CN, Director, Dept. of Electronics, IT, BT and MD, KITS, GoK.
Speaking at a panel discussion on ‘Govt Funding, Grants and Schemes for Entrepreneurs’ at the ‘Bengaluru Tech Summit 2021’ on Thursday, she stated about the various policy interventions and incentives rolled out by the Govt. of K’taka, that leverages Bengaluru as one of the best avenues for entrepreneurs. “The city was ranked 23rd this year in the Global Startup Ecosystem Report published by Startup Genome, making it the only city in the country to be in the Top 100”, she told.
Recently, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Government of India has ranked Karnataka as the top performer in the Start-up sector in the country. This is a result of the range of impact generated through institutional support and incubation networks, as well as awareness and outreach. Initiatives are also undertaken towards seed funding and venture fund support along with certain tax exemptions and grant-in-aid, she added.
“So far 470 projects have been funded with 181 prototypes being built and 13 patents filed”, she said, through ELEVATE programme to support early startups. Idea validation and mentoring are provided by a dedicated portal. Meena pointed that AMRUT startup initiative and UNNATI to cater to the weaker sections along with Grand Challenges-Karnataka add to the list of great initiatives by Govt. of K’taka.
Gunjan Krishna, Commissioner for Industrial Development and Director, Dept. of Industries and Commerce, told: “Our (Karnataka’s) financial incentives are the best in India and we have the ready-made infrastructure available for setting up the industry with lands available throughout the length and breadth of the State”.
She highlighted the availability of high-skill labour, comprising well-connected demand centers that provide world-class social infrastructure for industrial houses. Gunjan said, “Karnataka’s New Industrial Policy 2020-2025 envisions it to become a global leader creating an ecosystem for inclusive, balanced and sustainable development of the state”
Focusing on the development and promotion of MSME sector, K’taka gives subsidies based on the value of assets and upon the zones it falls under and more incentives are given in Tier 1 and II cities, especially in the Kalyana Karnataka region to foster growth, she added.
Shruti Singh, Joint Secretary, DPIIT, also presided over the discussion lauding entrepreneurial opportunity provided through BTS and the significant START-UP India initiative.
The panel discussion concluded with the anecdotes of the beneficiaries of ELEVATE initiative across the state, Scapic, Clarette Biotech, to name a few.
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