Have INR 700 Cr For Indian Startups But Funding No Bar For Innovation Done Right: C-DOT CEO

The CEO of Centre for Development of Telematic (C-DOT), RajKumar Upadhyay, has said that the Union government’s communications technology development arm has a corpus of INR 700 Cr to fund startups, but there is no bar for the innovation that the country needs.  

“We have various schemes of the government to fund innovation. Some of these schemes are available through C-DoT. Through them, we have a corpus of Rs 700 crore to fund startups, but there is no limit of funds if we find the right innovation,” Upadhyay told PTI. 

The CEO of the Centre for Development of Telematic (C-DOT), Rajkumar Upadhyay, has said that the Union government’s communications technology development arm has a corpus of INR 700 Cr to fund startups 

“We have various schemes of the government to fund innovation. Some of these schemes are available through C-DoT. Through them, we have a corpus of Rs 700 crore to fund startups, but there is no limit of funds if we find the right innovation,” Upadhyay told PTI. 

Making no qualms about the government’s bid to fuel innovation in the telecom space, Upadhyay added that the government had not specified any cap on such funds.

Noting that many neighbouring nations have already expressed interest in technological collaboration with the country, the C-DOT top executive said that such partnerships would help expand homegrown innovation beyond India’s borders.

This comes barely a day after India unveiled the country’s 6G vision document. The announcement was made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi while inaugurating the new International Telecommunication Union (ITU) area office and innovation centre, which is located inside the C-DOT facility.

The PM said that the government was also looking at scaling the technologies developed by homegrown telecom and 5G-related startups globally under the umbrella of ITU.

Wednesday’s event was also attended by a delegation of ministers from Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Iran, along with senior Indian bureaucrats. The event also saw an exhibition by 46 innovators and startups displaying scalable telecom solutions. 

The INR 700 Cr fund will give a major boost to the burgeoning Indian telecom solutions ecosystem. 

India has been looking to take the lead globally when it comes to setting up standards for the upcoming 6G technologies and exporting its telecom products across the globe. With that, the government wants to create a local ecosystem capable of fulfilling local demand and addressing global and export requirements.

These developments come barely six months after the Union government announced the rollout of 5G services. There are just two players in the commercial 5G services market – Reliance Jio and Airtel. While Jio’s 5G services are currently present in 406 cities, Airtel’s next-generation services are available in 260 cities nationwide. 

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