Government Funds Boost 10,000+ Tech Start-Ups In Five Years: Jitin Prasada

New Delhi, Aug 3 (KNN) In a written response to a Rajya Sabha inquiry, Jitin Prasada, Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology, reported that the Union government has empowered over 10,000 technology start-ups through various initiatives over the past five years.

The Centre has allocated a total of Rs 580 crore to start-ups via incubators, with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) supporting more than 3,600 tech start-ups through Rs 212 crore in disbursed funding.

Key programs under the Start-up India initiative include the Fund of Funds for Start-ups (FFS), Start-up India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Start-ups (CGSS).

These schemes aim to facilitate investments from angel investors and venture capitalists, as well as improve access to loans for start-ups.

Prasada noted that these efforts have contributed to the growth of India's start-up ecosystem, with over 1.43 lakh start-ups now recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

Meity has implemented several initiatives to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. The Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE 2.0) was launched in 2019 with Rs 264.62 crore budget over five years to support higher education institutions and R&D organisations.

The Start-up Accelerator of Meity for Product Innovation, Development, and Growth (SAMRIDH) provides up to Rs 40 lakh in matching funds to selected accelerators for startup support.

The Next Generation Incubation Scheme (NGIS) aims to support 300 tech start-ups in Tier-2/3 cities over three years, with a budget of Rs 95.03 crore.

Additionally, 42 domain-specific Centres of Excellence (CoEs) have been established to position India as an innovation hub in emerging technologies.

Various entrepreneur parks and incubation centres have been set up to promote innovation in electronics, chip design, and related fields.

These include initiatives through STPI New Delhi, Makers Village in Cochin Kerala, IIIT-Patna, and a collaboration with the government of Bihar on medical electronics. A Fabless chip design incubation centre has also been established at IIT-Hyderabad.

(KNN Bureau)