Karnataka Govt Maps Out New Startup Policy To Add 10K Startups In Next 5 Years

The Karnataka government has introduced a new startup policy (2022-27) on Thursday (22nd December), aiming to add around 10K startups more in the state’s business ecosystem in the next five years. 

The minister for higher education, IT & BT, Dr CN Ashwath Narayan said that the state government’s initial goal was to stimulate the growth of about 25K startups in the coming five years, particularly focusing on increasing the number of high-growth startups.

“The new policy framed by the Department of Electronics and IT/BT has the aim of positioning Karnataka as the ‘Champion State’ for startups and further increase the number of high-growth startups by 2027,” Narayan said.

As a part of the policy, the state government will also launch an INR 100 Cr venture capital fund to back deeptech startups working in artificial intelligence, machine learning, electric vehicle, medtech, robotics and drones, among others. 

The minister further added that Karnataka houses about 15K startups presently. The novel startup policy will create an enabling environment for growing startups and make the state an innovation hub. 

He also said that the startup policy will promote tech-enabled startups working beyond Bengaluru by providing them a conducive environment and an ideal business environment for growth.

Under the policy, the state government will establish a centre of excellence, earmarking INR 15 Cr for developing innovative products and solutions. It also looks to promote startups operating in the backward Kalyan Karnataka region.

Earlier, in June, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that Bengaluru, capital city of Karnataka, houses 400 Fortune out of 500 companies. He further compared the state’s startup ecosystem with the US’ Silicon Valley.

Karnataka’s new startup policy came at a time when central and state governments have introduced a series of policies and regulations to bolster the startup ecosystem.

So far this year, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh are some states that have launched startup policies. Besides, the Maharashtra government announced plans to launch an EV-focused fund to bolster EV startups. On the other hand, the Tamil Nadu government revamped its policy to support homegrown startups as well. 

Recently, tech colossal Google committed $75 Mn to back women-led startups in the country. Apart from this, multiple VC funds such as Artha, SpitiCap and Anicut Capital, among others have been launched to provide monetary support to early and growth-stage startups.