Karnataka govt announces seed funding to 200 startups

Bengaluru: To promote technological innovation in the state, 200 startups will be provided with seed funding of up to Rs 50 lakh each in the current year, C.N.Ashwath Narayan, Karnataka Minister for IT/BT and Skill Development, has said.

Speaking on the occasion of the first 'National Startup Day' event observed at Vidhana Soudha, he said, "This being the year of Azad Ka Amrit Mahotsav (75th year of Independence), the seed funding will be facilitated to additional 75 startups, to achieve the tally to 200 Startups in the year." In the current year, the state has so for attracted Rs 1.60 lakh crores of foreign direct investment, which is more than 50 per cent of the investment made in the entire country.

"The state is home to over 13,000 startups out of the total 57,000 in the country. In view of maintaining the leading position of the state in the sector the stress on digital education and skill development will be focussed through effective implementation of NEP," he explained. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, that the role of startups will be crucial in India becoming 'vishwaguru' and 'super power'.

Going forward along the lines of the Prime Minister's thought, the growth of hardware will also be facilitated together with software in the state. "ART part (Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Translational Park) set up at IISc stands as a testimony to the commitment towards the growth of emerging industries," Minister added. Further under the ESDM policy, Rs 5,000 crores will be given as subsidy, and out of this Rs 2,000 crores has already been given in the first year, Narayan said.

The Union government has observed the 'Startup India Innovation Week' from January 10 - January 16 and has announced national rewards for the startups for their innovative product development. Out of the total 56 startups who bagged the reward, 14 are from the Karnataka to put the state on top in the country.