World-class hub planned in Maharashtra to boost startups

The Maharashtra government is planning to set up a world-class startup hub in the state on the lines of the T-Hub situated in Hyderabad, Telangana. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed the information technology (IT) and skill development and entrepreneurship departments to constitute a team of experts to look in to the possibilities of the startup hub. Fadnavis has also called for a study into the existing innovation and start-up ecosystem of the state.

The directives were issued in a meeting convened by governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao at Raj Bhavan on Wednesday.

The chief minister asked IT secretary SVR Srinivas and skill development and entrepreneurship secretary Aseem Gupta to constitute a team of experts comprising representatives from NASSCOM and other similar organizations to investigate the idea, said a senior officer.

Governor Rao took the lead to look in to the possibility by calling the meeting attended by the chief minister, finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, Harish Mehta, founder NASSCOM, Dr BVR Mohan Reddy, founder and executive chairman of Cyient Ltd, Jay Krishnan and Srinivas Kollipara, promoters of T-Hub Hyderabad along with senior government officials.

Closer into the future, the Maharashtra State Innovation Society (MSIS) will organise Maharashtra Startup Week, 2018 from June 25-29, in order to provide a platform for startups to showcase their innovative products.

The idea is to promote innovative startups in the state by means of encouraging, engaging and enabling the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The MSIS has been working under the state skill development and entrepreneurship department, as a nodal agency to boost innovation driver performance and efficiency in the sector.

Sambhaji Nilangekar Patil, state skill development and entrepreneurship minister said, “Startups from sectors such as education, healthcare, agriculture, clean energy, environment, water management, smart infrastructure, mobility, governance, financial inclusion and cyber security are invited to submit their applications for the week.”

The top 100 ventures will be able to present their solutions to an esteemed panel of judges comprising representatives from state government, industry and academia and the top three from each of the 24 sectors will receive work orders of up to Rs15 lakh from MSIS to pilot their solutions and demonstrate proof of concept. Further, they will be provided state support and mentoring from its institutional partners, to deploy solutions on the ground for a period of one year.

A dedicated pitching session will also be hosted for startups looking to expand their operations in overseas markets for which 5-10 promising ventures will be given financial support up to Rs15 lakh for their market development programs abroad.

Eom/faisal