Bommai cabinet approves startup policy, targets 50 innovation centres

Belagavi (Karnataka) [India], December 22 (ANI): The Karnataka Cabinet led by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday approved the Karnataka Start-up Policy 2022-27 which aims to establish 50 new-age innovation network (NAIN) centres.
35 out of these 50 NAIN centres are in IT and Electronics and 15 are in biotechnology institutions of higher learning located outside Bengaluru Urban district.
According to an official statement, the policy aims at stimulating the growth of 25,000 Startups in the state by 2027.
Karnataka IT and BT Minister CN Ashwath Narayan said that the new policy aims to add atleast 10,000 Startups in 5 years.
"The new policy framed by the Department of Electronics Information Technology Biotechnology and Science and Technology has an overarching aim of positioning Karnataka as the 'Champion State' for startups and further increasing the number of high growth startups by 2027," Narayan said.
Currently the state houses around 15,000 Startups.
The policy has a dedicated focus on promoting startups in emerging technology clusters 'Beyond Bengaluru' by creating a conducive environment and offering startups an ideal ecosystem for their growth.
"The Policy intends to give impetus to encouraging social entrepreneurship and assistive technology innovations and facilitate innovative technology solutions in Social Governance sectors to address the existing social challenges in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) framework enabling to meet Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," the statement further said.
The Vision of the Policy is, "To play a vital role in creating an enabling environment across the State for nurturing startups throughout their business lifecycle and make Karnataka a global innovation hub for startups".
"The policy based on 9 pillars has 7 Objectives which include strengthening the infrastructure set up in government institutions and support the ecosystem with a greater thrust on emerging clusters 'Beyond Bengaluru'," it stated.
The other key objectives of the policy include inculcating innovation and entrepreneurial skills in students across all streams, encouraging social entrepreneurship and assistive technology innovations and facilitating innovative technology solutions in the Social Governance sectors.
"Supporting the creation and development of incubation and acceleration infrastructure as key enablers. Facilitating funding avenues that lead to investment in startups by institutional investors and angel investors and also through Government funding are among its objectives," it added. (ANI)