Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka, is a leading destination for startups in the country, and arguably for the world as well. Given this background and with the startup ecosystem evolving and getting stronger by the day, the state government has also played a key role.

Now, the government is keen to further enhance its support for these young companies and entrepreneurs to enable an all-round development, said C N Ashwath Narayan, Minister for Electronics, IT, BT and S&T, Higher Education, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship & Livelihood, Government of Karnataka, in an interaction with YourStory.

Here are edited excerpts from the conversation.

YourStory (YS): How do you see the future of the evolution of startups in Karnataka?

Ashwath Narayan (AN): Startups have made big difference in providing solutions and it has now grown up to create a disruption. It is not only the reason of economics as the solutions provided by the startups is making a huge difference in the lives of people providing them with a better standard of living.

It [startup sector] is growing bigger and better from state to national and international level and they are getting better recognition, market access for all the products, as well as services.

They are gaining a lot of confidence, recognition, and it is a proud moment for us as Indians. We can now show the world what kind of talent we have and the aspirations of our younger generation. Life has become much more meaningful.

YS: What steps is the Karnataka government taking to further the growth of startups in the state?

AN: We have come out with many programmes to promote startups along with the IT-ITeS industry particularly taking them beyond the capital Bengaluru. We have policies around IT, ESDM, engineering R&D among others to encourage the ecosystem as well as the startups.

We have bought in a lot of reforms in the procurement system of government where opportunities are provided to startups to participate in contracts without having the minimum criteria or turnover.

Also, larger players are given more points if they partner with startups while bidding for government procurement contracts. Such initiatives will help startups to be part of the government procurement system.

We also have the Elevate programme, which is one of the best in the country, where we have funded more than 500 startups. Now, we are planning to expand it region wise as it becomes difficult for these entrepreneurs to compete with those from the larger cities. We have a lot of emphasis on women entrepreneurs as well.

C N Ashwath Narayan

Src: Your Story