Karnataka budget 2023: Startup Park near Bengaluru airport to aid 25,000 ventures

Karnataka-budget-2023-Startup-Park-near-Bengaluru-airport-to-aid-25,000-ventures

Making strides at the national level with its vibrant startup ecosystem, Karnataka on Friday looked to leverage its position further with chief minister Basavaraj Bommai announcing setting up of a Startup Park at a cost of Rs 30 crore near Kempegowda International Airport.

Making strides at the national level with its vibrant startup ecosystem, on Friday looked to leverage its position further with chief minister Basavaraj Bommai announcing setting up of a Startup Park at a cost of Rs 30 crore near Kempegowda International Airport.

According to officials from the IT & BT department, the proposed park will be a hub for aspiring entrepreneurs from various parts of the state. Stating that the allocation of Rs 30 crore is only an initial investment, IT & BT minister CN Ashwath Narayan said: “This will position Karnataka as a champion state for startups by stimulating the growth of 25,000 startups in the coming years.” The minister added that the move is in line with the state government’s vision of building a $300-billion digital economy by 2025.

The CM took pride in Karnataka adding six startups to the list of successful unicorns. “Karnataka is home to 40 unicorns worth $163 billion and 93 startups by women from SC, ST and backward classes have been encouraged under Elevate programme.” A senior official from the IT, BT department said: “The park will provide a plug-andplay facility with a complete ecosystem for developing prototype solutions and market-ready scalable products. The proposed infrastructure shall be focused on emerging technologies — agri-tech, climate-tech, deep tech, among others to drive sustainable solutions for the 21st century global and local challenges. The land area, project cost and mode of development are to be finalised.”

The park near KIA will not only provide global connectivity, but also easy mobility for the entrepreneurial human resource building the next unicorn, said officials. Rahul Shah, co-founder and director, WalkWater Talent Advisors, a startup, said an exclusive park is a welcome step. “It exhibits the government’s focus on attracting startups to Bengaluru. Even though the government is yet to come out with more details on the park, Bengaluru is already emerging as the global hub for startups..

Source: The Times of India