Rajasthan government to invest Rs 5 Cr in startups

The Government of Rajasthan will spend Rs 5 crore to fund 108 startups, to build a favourable environment for the overall startup ecosystem in the state, the Department of Information Technology and Communications (DoIT&C) said in a release on Wednesday. 

All of them would receive continuous guidance through the state’s iStart mentorship programme. As a part of this mentorship programme, the startups receive guidance and training to help them evolve and access new markets and customers.

iStart Rajasthan is the state’s flagship initiative for startups to foster innovation, create jobs and encourage entrepreneurship. The Department of Information Technology and Communication of Rajasthan government provides an integrated comprehensive platform for startups, investors, incubators, accelerators, and mentors. The focus of this initiative is to fund startups that are on the idea stage, early stage, and startups with MVP (Minimal Viable Product).

The initiative is backed by investors like Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Gilda Enterprise, Let’s Venture, and Ankur Capital Fund. 

ALSO READ

[The Turning Point] From starting as a WhatsApp service to getting Google to make its first direct investment in India - the Dunzo journey

The government will give sustainability allowance to 28 startups that are at the idea/prototype stage and each of them will get a grant of Rs 10,000 per month for one year. Out of them, 25 startups at the MVP stage will get a marketing allowance of up to Rs 10 lakh.

The state will give seed funding to nine startups to mature their products and services, and one startup will receive techno fund meant for potential and emerging startups or those led by women or green startups. 

Around 42 out of these 108 startups will get a COVID-19 seed grant, as per the budget announcement of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in February 2021.

The decision was taken under the chairmanship of Principal Secretary to the Government, Alok Gupta, in the third meeting of the State Level Implementation Committee. 

Representatives of Rajasthan Venture Capital Fund and higher education institutions of the state like BITS-Pilani, MNIT and IIT Jodhpur were also a part of the call. 

The Commissioner of Information Technology and Communications Department Sandesh Nayak was also present.