Karnataka govt chooses 12 startups, commits Rs 3.18 crore in grants to them

The states of India are almost at war with each other over startups - who can provide the most favourable climate for the fledgling companies to thrive in - and Karnataka seems to be taking the lead.

The department of information technology and biotechnology of the Karnataka government has announced Rs 3.18 crore in grants to 12 startups belonging to areas such as agriculture, biotechnology, security, communications and robotics.

"We have always supported startups in the state and will continue to do so. These 12 startups were chosen because they have the potential to make a difference," said Priyank Kharge, IT&BT minister.

The chosen startups are Dr Liv Software, EasyKrishi, Lightmetrics, PiOctave Solutions, Geeksynergy Tech, ispAgro Robotics, Astrome, Esyasoft, Geotraq Safety, NammaNImma Cycle, Sirena Technologies and Selfdot Technologies. Each company will receive an initial funding of up to Rs 50 lakh.

These startups have been part of Idea2PoC (Proof of Concept), which is part of the broader Karnataka Startup policy launched by the state in 2015.

In March this year, the state government had selected eight startups in the tourism space for grants ranging between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 50 lakh as part of its multi-sectoral startup policy.

Since the launch of Startup India programme by the Centre, there has been a unanimous effort to develop the startup ecosystem in the country, cutting across state governments and political lines.

Recently, Minister of Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman wrote a letter to members of parliament (MPs) and urged them to utilize Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds to set up co-working spaces or startup incubators in their constituencies. The measure is aimed to develop the overall startup ecosystem.