The Government of Karnataka claims to have funded 61 startups across various sectors in the last four months. The claim was made by Priyank Kharge, Minister of IT, Biotechnology and Tourism in Karnataka.
While addressing Open House organized by ET and Karnataka government, he said:
We are (sector) agnostic, we go by the idea. In the last four months, we have funded 61 companies. My startup policy allows me to fund anything from aerospace to agriculture.
It has been a very tiring 15 days for my team who have been moving to all destinations, curating startups.Selected startups will get to present to a grand jury. The idea is to identify 100 most innovative companies to take them to the next level.
The state government is also running Idea2POC, which is a part of the multi-sector Startup Policy launched by it in 2015, and being implemented by Karnataka Biotechnology and Information Technology Services (KBITS).
In March this year, the state government funded eight tourism startups under the same scheme. Earlier in June, the state government’s Startup Cell has also granted ₹3.18 crore grant to 12 startups working in varied segment like Agritech, Biotech, Security, Robotics & Communications
The state government has also allocated ₹10 crore for agriculture innovation startups based out of Karnataka. Kharge also pointed out to NAIN — New Age Incubation Network.
Under the program, it gives ₹10 lakh to engineering colleges for operational cost. In the first year, he claims to have helped 90 student-innovators, out of which, 18-20 registered as companies, and 6-7 filed for patents.