Karnataka to set Aside Fund to Encourage Startups

BENGALURU: The state government is set to give a big boost to innovation by announcing an exclusive fund for startups in the upcoming budget to be presented on March 13.

“We want to make Bengaluru the global hub of innovation and startups. Modi-led government at the Centre has just announced formation of a `1,000 crore fund for the purpose. With Bengaluru leading the country in terms of number of startups, the thinking in the state is to set up our own fund of about `50 crore to `100 crore. The Chief Minister is expected to incorporate the suggestion in his budget,” sources in state Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science and Technology told Express. The state government has already drawn up an ambitious road map to have at least 10,000 startups by 2023 and set up many new age incubators to promote student startups.

According to a recent National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) report, India is likely to have about 11,500 startup by 2020. Presently, the country has about 3,100 startups of which 868 are in Bengaluru.

CM Siddaramaiah, who held a pre-budget meet with officials of IT, BT and Science and Technology departments on Tuesday is said to have responded positively on announcing new incentives to encourage setting up of Electronic and Systems Design Manufacturing units.

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