Setting Up Mechanism To Monitor Startups Funded By Govt: Jitendra Singh

According to the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh, the government has proposed a mechanism to monitor and nurture the growth of startups that receive funding from the exchequer.

Singh was addressing the valedictory function and awards ceremony of the National Technology Week Exposition at Pragati Maidan on Sunday (May 14).

The science and technology minister added that the mechanism would closely follow the growth of startups and see how these startups can be sustained, especially those that have received technical and financial support from the government.

Debunking some of the myths surrounding startups, Singh said that people seem to assume that a startup founder needs to be young and highly qualified. He added that he had seen a scientist set up a startup after retirement. For the myth about education, he said that one only needs to be an innovator for a startup.

Singh added that there was increased interest in doing startups in greenfield sectors as well, such as Earth Sciences and Oceanography.

At the same event, Principal Scientific Advisor to the government Ajay Kumar Sood suggested that there should be a Startup Day and Week, similar to the recently concluded National Technology Day and the ongoing National Technology Week.

The Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology S Chandrasekhar, added that every startup that took part in the Exposition was very conscious of sustainable development.

National Technology Day is celebrated on May 11 to commemorate the Pokhran-II nuclear tests carried out by India in 1998, successfully detonating a thermonuclear bomb in the process. The National Technology Week is celebrated for the week following the day.

The celebration was started in 1999 by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to honour Indian scientists, engineers and technologists.

It is prudent to mention here that with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the government has recognised 99,276 startups to date. In earlier data, DPIIT said these startups have generated more than 8.4 Lakh jobs.

The Centre has also been investing in startups through many of its schemes. According to government data, the Fund of Funds (FFS) scheme has invested INR 14,077 Cr across 791 startups since 2020. Further, the government has committed INR 7,980 Cr to 99 Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs).