The Union government has supported more than 10,000 technology startups in a massive outlay of Rs 580 crore over the last five years. It has been one such initiative by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to encourage innovation, entrepreneurship, and technological betterment in the entire country.
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Union Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology Jitin Prasada stated these facts in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. He is mentioned to have stated that the Centre, with the help of several incubators, has disbursed the total fund, where more than 3,600 tech startups have received Rs 212 crore only from MeitY. The funding turned out to be very critical for the incubated start-ups and enabled them to get investors in the form of angel investors, venture capitalists, or in the nature of loans.
Under the overarching program of Startup India, it has announced various flagship schemes such as the Fund of Funds for Startups, Startup India Seed Fund Scheme, and the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups. The schemes collectively foster the development and sustenance of the startups and are self-sufficient to make them capable of competing in the big competitive market.
He said that at present, DPIIT recognizes more than 1.43 lakh startups in India. It’s an identification of a dynamic vibrant culture of startups that has been built up through continued efforts of the government.
Besides this, it has also conceived some focused programmes aimed at facilitating start-ups, viz., Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs, TIDE 2.0; Startup Accelerator of MeitY for Product Innovation, Development and Growth, SAMRIDH; Next Generation Incubation Scheme, NGIS; and Domain-specific Centres of Excellence, CoEs. All these foregoing initiatives have pivotal roles to play in financial and technical support, fostering innovation, and promoting the development of new technologies.
TIDE 2.0 was launched in 2019 with the sanction of a fund of Rs 264.62 crore for five years to institutes of higher learning and premier R&D organizations. Under the SAMRIDH header, support is extended to select accelerators and up to Rs 40 lakh is accorded to each selected one. NGIS Scheme has an allocation of Rs 95.03 crore for three years, and it has been mandated to handhold 300 technology startups in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
It further added that MeitY has operationalized 42 CoEs to make India an innovation hub for emerging technologies. Entrepreneur Parks were set up here in collaboration with institutions such as STPI New Delhi, Makers Village in Cochin, IIIT-Patna, and IIT-Hyderabad, aimed at boosting innovation-led electronic system design and manufacturing.
This unanimity of efforts by the Union government is, thus, a testimony of its dedication and commitment in nurturing the startup ecosystem for driving technological innovations in an effort designed to take its place on the global map as a leader in the startup domain. Apart from the vast fund size, the holistic support mechanisms laid a strong founding for the continued growth and success of startups across the country.
