Karnataka government to revise startup policy
The announcement of a revised startup policy was made during the presentation of the State Budget by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.
The Karnataka government will revise the existing startup policy, announced Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa who also holds the Finance Ministry portfolio.
Presenting the State Budget on Monday, the chief minister said that there would be a revision of Karnataka's startup policy but no details were made immediately available.
Karnataka was one of the first states in the country to come up with a separate policy for the startup ecosystem. This initiative received a major boost after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Startup India mission in 2015.
The state's capital Bengaluru is often dubbed as India's Silicon Valley and is already considered as one of the major startup hubs in the country, attracting both talent and venture capital fund. It is also home to numerous unicorns in the country.
The chief minister also announced the establishment of a new venture capital fund of Rs 100 crore to support new and emerging technology institutes. The Budget also intends to initiate measures to formulate cyber-security policy and data centre policy.
Keeping in step with the trends in the advancements of technology, the Karnataka Budget has also announced the establishment of a research park at an expenditure of Rs 10 crore to promote research of quantum computing and related technologies.
The state government has already created the Centre of Excellence for Data Science and AI in partnership with in Bengaluru. This initiative seeks to position the state as a premier global destination for artificial intelligence.
The objective of this centre is to foster disruptive innovation by creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem and quality human capital to meet the AI talent requirements.
The State Budget also laid out an outlay of Rs 7,800 crore for Bengaluru with projects such as the peripheral ring road, fast-tracking the implementation of the suburban rail project, doubling railway lines, as well as creating tree parks and automatic ticketing systems.
These announcements are expected to ease the infrastructure woes of the city.
Edited by Kanishk Singh