Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Information Technology, Priyank Kharge, at the launch Panchamitra portal and WhatsApp Chat, at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Friday, March 01, 2024.
DH PHOTO/PUSHKAR V
Bengaluru: Bengaluru has seen startups raise $70.1 billion since 2010, fostering among them 45 unicorns, according to Bengaluru Innovation Report 2024, released on Wednesday by the state’s Minister for Electronics, IT, Bt as well as Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Priyank Kharge.
Offering a support of Rs 60 crore to 263 start-ups under the state government’s ELEVATE programme, the minister reiterated the government’s commitment to the startup ecosystem. The report also revealed that the Department for Electronics, IT, Bt, has supported 983 startups with a committed fund of Rs 224.06 crores as funding.
“The ELEVATE programme, an Idea2PoC Grant-In-Aid Scheme, has provided grants of up to Rs 50 lakhs to more than 980 startups, with a special focus on women entrepreneurs and deep tech solutions,” Kharge pointed out.
In a reflection of the state’s present push for “Beyond Bengaluru” development, 35% of the 263 startups awarded at the ceremony were from outside Bengaluru. “Initiatives like the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) and the Beyond Bengaluru initiative are pivotal in developing IT hubs across the state,” the minister added.
Ekroop Caur, IAS Secretary, Department of Electronics, Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka, said that a total funding of $76 billion has been raised by Karnataka startups.
BV Naidu, Chairman, KDEM, explained in the Report, “Karnataka, with a digital economy contribution close to $110 billion, is expected to grow to $400 billion, consistently contributing around 30% to the national digital economy.”
He added, “Initiatives like the Beyond Bengaluru mission are instrumental in fostering inclusive growth by extending support to clusters beyond Bengaluru, such as Mysuru, Mangaluru, and Hubballi-Dharwad-Belagavi.”