Nirmala Sitharaman Asks MPs To Set Up Incubators, Coworking Spaces To Boost Indian Startups

Minister of Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman is serious about encouraging Indian startups in the ecosystem. Her latest measure came in the form of a letter, where she asked Indian MPs (Members of the Parliament) to help set up incubators and coworking spaces in their respective constituencies.

Sitharaman urged them to utilise the funds from the MPLAD (Members of Parliament Local Area Department) to work on the same.

“We have been interacting with various startups regarding their business needs and support that they expect from the government,” the minister said. She added that infrastructure was a crucial aspect adding one of the crucial aspects that needs to be addressed in this regard.

The Minister has been proactive in this matter on her own regard too. Just last week, Inc42 reported that she used her MPLAD funds for setting up an incubator and coworking space in Mangaluru. She has invested $183K for the same. Earlier Sitharaman had stated that steps have been taken to set up innovation hubs in Karnataka. The location of these hubs are NIT Karnataka in Manguluru and Nitte Mahalinga Adyanthaya Memorial Institute of Technology in Udupi district. These hubs have been set up with the participation of NITI Aayog.

She also said that startups may not be able to own or hire working space due to financial constraints. “Thereby, it was suggested that if government could support in creating coworking spaces, it could help translate their ideas into successful businesses.”

Commenting on the need for all MPs to participate in the Startup India, Stand Up India movement by providing infrastructure support, an official statement released by the Commerce Ministry said, “This step will promote the startup ecosystem in the country and help startups in their constituency make rapid strides towards establishing themselves and also create jobs.”

Nirmala Sitharaman has been a hands-on Minister of commerce and industry. From inaugurating the Startup India Online Hub to announcing a startup meet across SAARC nations and encouraging resolution for online vendor issues with ecommerce players, Sitharaman has taken a number of steps to ensure the proliferation of Indian startups.

(The development was reported by Money Control.)