Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in his Budget for 2024-25, announced three new programmes aimed to boost the start-up ecosystem in the State.
The new programmes include the Rajiv Gandhi Entrepreneurship Programme — an early-stage funding programme to promote innovative endeavours and start-ups by students and entrepreneurs, a new initiative to support early-stage women entrepreneurs with a sector-wise and targeted approach, and a programme to promote agri-start-ups in the State.
Under the agri-start-up programme, five acres of land will be provided to C-Camp Agri Innovation Park.
Centre of excellence
The government has also proposed to set aside ₹10 crore to establish a centre of excellence in fintech, space tech and automotive tech over five years in collaboration with entrepreneurs and educational institutions.
Karnataka recently emerged as one of the best-performing States in the start-up ranking by the Department for Promotion Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). However, the State, which is home to 18,000 start-ups, saw a considerable drop in start-up funding in 2023, mostly owing to the macro-economic trends.
The Minister also announced plans to introduce a new GCC (Global Capacity Centres) policy in the current year to attract higher investments in major sectors. Bengaluru currently has more than 400 GCCs.
Innovation centre
The other announcements included the establishment of skilling and innovation centres in Kalaburagi, Shivamogga, Hubbali, and Tumakuru, and an institute of advanced genome editing and gene therapy.
The State is also planning to launch an AVGC-XR Policy 3.0 for the period 2024-29 with the aim of generating 30,000 jobs in the animation, visual effects, gaming and comics sectors. An investment of ₹150 crore is planned towards this.
The Budget had a slew of announcements with the aim of promoting scientific temper among citizens. This included plans for a science city in Bengaluru in association with the central government at a cost of ₹233 crore and a month-long Karnataka Science and Technology Festival.
