Budget 2023: Karnataka Govt Announces Multiple Sops For Startups

The Karnataka Government on Friday (July 7) announced a slew of incentives for startups in the state as part of its Budget 2023-24 announcements. 

In his budget speech, chief minister Siddaramiah proposed the setting up of an incubation centre, INNOVERSE, for INR 50 Cr. The centre will be equipped with multiple hi-tech facilities and will cater to local startups. The budget has earmarked a grant of INR 10 Cr for this purpose in the current year. 

Besides, an initial allocation of INR 1 Cr has also been set aside in the current year for the ‘Propel’ initiative, which aims at speeding up the adoption of solutions developed by state-funded startups. The total project cost of the project will be around INR 5 Cr. 

The budget also proposes a seed fund of INR 1 Cr for its ‘GIA-MAP’ (Global Innovation Alliance-Market Access Programme). A sum of INR 3 Cr has been allocated for the initiative. Launched in 2019, GIA-MAP is expected to help startups enter new markets and establish international partnerships and shore up global sales.

While presenting the budget, Siddaramiah also announced an INR 4 Lakh insurance scheme for gig workers in the state. The government will bear the cost of the entire premium and the gig workers will be able to receive a life insurance cover of INR 2 Lakh and an accidental cover of INR 2 Lakh under the new announcement. 

In addition, the state will also set up centres of excellence in the areas of medtech and healthtech at a proposed cost of INR 50 Cr. As part of this, an initial amount of INR 10 Cr has been set aside in the Budget 2023-24. 

A new technology transfer organisation (TTO) will also come up in the state, which will enable new-age incubation centres to undertake technology transfer. To be built at a total cost of INR 4 Cr, the current budget has earmarked a grant of INR 1 Cr in the current year. 

The budget also envisages the establishment of a centre of excellence for wireless and wired technologies via the private-public partnership (PPP) model. To be built at a cost of around INR 25 Cr, a sum of INR 5 Cr has been provided by the government in this year’s budget. 

The budget also proposed the creation of the Karnataka State Research Foundation (KSRF) to effectively monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Karnataka Research, Development and Innovation Policy. 

The sops could come in handy for the startup hub, which has been bogged down in the funding winter. While the announcements are some respite, it remains to be seen whether they percolate to the ground level or not.