The government began the Digital India GENESIS programme in July (Gen-Next Support for Innovative Startups). The initiative is budgeted at Rs 750 crore.
The government plans to encourage more than 10,000 companies under the GENESIS initiative over the next 5-6 years, according to Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity).
Kumar further stated that he has not observed any company asking for funding, but rather for development prospects via various channels.
Sharma stated, “Money is not an issue. We are now progressing to the next level, where Genesis will appear.We’re going to take off. In the next 5-6 years, we plan to promote 10,000 companies.”
He was replying to a question about a potential financing winter, which might result in a lack of money for entrepreneurs.
The government began the Digital India GENESIS programme in July (Gen-Next Support for Innovative Startups). The initiative is budgeted at Rs 750 crore.
Sharma attended a briefing session with several company leaders to better understand their problems.
The conference was attended by representatives from KidEx, Teralumens, iMumz, Recur Club, AyuRhytm, KrishifyFarmstock, BlueSemi R&D Pvt Ltd, Gurutvaa Systems, and Next Skills 360. Currently, India has around 73,000 startups, with over 100 of them being unicorns, or companies valued at $1 billion or more.
Sharma added, “We are assisting entrepreneurs in product creation from which they may pick up business.”
Meity already has a programme called Startup Accelerator of MeitY for Product Innovation, Development, and Growth (SAMRIDH), in which it hopes to pick 300 businesses and offer them with investment of up to Rs 40 lakh apiece.
Bhuvnesh Kumar, Additional Secretary at Meity, stated that the ministry has collaborated with 22 accelerators for Samridh. The total project investment is Rs 100 crore, and the government is collaborating with accelerators who will link them to venture investors.
Kumar stated, “The government would match the funds that entrepreneurs receive from venture capitalists.”
