How Karnataka govt is enabling further growth of startups

Good Morning,

India's Silicon Valley, Bengaluru, is a leading destination for startups in the country and the world. According to The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2021, the capital of Karnataka ranked 23rd in an annual analysis of the world's most favourable ecosystems to build a globally successful startup.

The state government has also played a key role in enabling the startup ecosystem to evolve amid increased digitisation and investor boom. 

In an interaction with YourStory, C N Ashwath Narayan, Minister for Electronics, IT, BT and S&T, Higher Education, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship & Livelihood, Government of Karnataka, said that the state government is keen to further enhance its support for these young companies and entrepreneurs to enable an all-round development. 

"We have come out with many programmes to promote startups along with the IT-ITeS industry, particularly taking them beyond the capital Bengaluru. We have policies around IT, ESDM, engineering R&D, among others to encourage the ecosystem as well as the startups," Minister Ashwath Narayan said.

He said that the government is also taking many steps to promote women entrepreneurs.

"We have created an exclusive fund to encourage women entrepreneurs as well as socially disadvantaged groups. This is the topmost priority of the government and there are enough funds available for such startups," he added. 

The Interview

Rising smartphone usage and internet connectivity have made users more aware through access to multiple sources of information. This has led to their choices and spending patterns undergoing a change. 

Freshworks' Vinod Chandramouli and Lenskart's Ramneek Khurana delve into customer engagement strategies for omnichannel retail and how platforms like WhatsApp are doubling up as sales channels.

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On Prime Venture Podcast, Dozee Co-founders Mudit Dandwate and Gaurav Parchani talk about the time they acted as guinea pigs for Dozee, how they took an idea to a product, the challenge of convincing doctors, data privacy issues, and more. Read more.

Startup Spotlight

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To solve these challenges, Dr Rohit Sharma came up with ZINI, a flagship product of Delhi-based GRAINPAD Pvt. Ltd. The healthtech startup offers an AI-powered, voice-based virtual physician that provides medical guidance and directs patients to seek timely medical help. Read more.

News & Updates

• Paytm is likely to allocate shares at the upper price band of Rs 2,150 apiece on November 16 after market regulator SEBI's approval, which is expected to come on Monday, sources said.

• Amazon has infused fresh capital to the tune of Rs 1,460 crore into one of its India units, Amazon Seller Services, according to documents filed with the corporate affairs ministry and shared by market intelligence firm Tofler.

• Amid concerns over misleading claims of huge returns on cryptocurrency investment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting on the way forward on the issue.

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

“We believe in facilitating the entire [startup] ecosystem and the government is just one call away from startups for any kind of support.”

— C N Ashwath Narayan, IT, BT and S&T Minister, Government of Karnataka

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