Chennai, Aug 3 (KNN) Tamil Nadu chief Minister M.K. Stalin launched three startup regional hubs in in Madurai, Tirunelveli and Erode on Tuesday.

The primary objective for setting up these hubs is to take the government initiatives with regard to startup an innovation policy to tier-II and tier-III regions.

While addressing the Tamil Nadu Startups and Incubators meet, the chief minister said that the state government is currently working on a new startup and innovation policy. He said that the new-age entrepreneurs would be involved in the mission to achieve the USD 1-trillion economy.

Stalin also rolled out the StartupTN accelerator initiative designed to propel growth stage startups with a minimum viable product to the next stage through upskilling, mentoring and access to the right resources. The initiative will benefit over 100 startups in the beginning.

“My dream is that Tamil Nadu should become the numero uno investment destination in South Asia,”he said.

Initiatives related to community circle and incubator maturity model framework were also launched at the meet. The objective of the community circles is to spread the art of innovation and entrepreneurship among students and create success stories within the community.

These circles are micro-groups of 20-50 members comprising startups, entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, entrepreneurship development cells and incubator representatives, students, aspirants and enthusiasts.

Sivarajah Ramanathan, Mission Director and Chief Executive Officer of Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission (TANSIM), said, “The last startup policy was released in 2018; thereafter, technology has changed, and many new things have come up. We will frame a new policy based on the latest trends in the market,” he said.

During the meet, a sum of Rs 5 lakh each was provided to 31 startups from across the State. This was part of the third edition of Tamil Nadu Startup Seed Grant Fund (TANSEED).  (KNN Bureau)