Budget allocations for startup
» Rs.482.87 cr provided for IT and e-Governance.
» Rs. 60 crore is proposed to Technopark to set up a new technology innovation park.
» Rs.40 crore is provided mainly for Raspberry Pi Programme (Rs.6.33 crore), Startup Box Campaign (Rs.1 crore), Start-up Boot camp (Rs.2 crore) and Grass Route level entrepreneurship development Programmes for Schools and Colleges (Rs.2.81 crore).
» Rs.25 crore is provided for 1000 startups in the year 2016-17.
» Cyber park will be started in Chengannur soon
» Rs. 12 crore for young entrepreneurs through Angel Funding scheme
» Rs. 8 crore for women entrepreneurs
Startup Village in Kochi. (File photo: Onmanorama)Kottayam: Entrepreneurs at the Kerala Technology Innovation Zone (KTIZ) in Kochi, managed by Kerala Startup Mission, have mixed feelings about the state budget, with some wondering how much of those proposals will translate into action on the ground given the short time the government has left.
Sanjay Vijayakumar, Chairman, Startup Village, said, “The allocation this time towards the startup ecosystem is more than the combined sum allocated to Technopark, Infopark and Cyberpark. That said, we cannot expect any dramatic changes due to the short financial window” left for the government.
Amarnath Sankar, CEO, CAT Entertainment, said the government's efforts were were laudable. “It will be great if they keep up the momentum while executing these. If things happen the way they shoud, then this state will become a role model for the entire nation.”
But Ganesh Gopal, Founder, Centre for Development Initiatives (CDI) and Co-Founder, Doublebit Technologies, thought it could have been better.
“A roadmap for mapping and spending on targeted PPP projects as well as MSME's are the drivers of economic growth in a small developing and nascent business ecosystem like Kerala. Therefore, such impetus is essential in this sector and likewise in the startup sector. We must focus on job creation rather than producing more job takers. Seed fund is good but proper norms need to be developed for disbursing the same,” he said.
Vibhin Varghese, CEO, Elveera Technologies, said it would be nice if the proposals by the state government could be put-into-action.
Rahul R.S, the co-founder of Rabitech, said while the proposals seem very attractive, the entrepreneurs would like an action plan so that they could reap the benefits of schemes announced in the budget.
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