CM Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in the ‘Startup Samvad’ organized under the ‘Mukhya Sevak Samvad’ programme at Mukhya Sevak Sadan in Dehradun on Sunday. During this, he interacted with startup promoters from across the state and listened to their important suggestions. The Chief Minister released the book ‘Unnat Uttrakhand’ and also visited the exhibition on Startups.
Government Schemes for Start-ups in the State
CM Pushkar said that the government aims to create 1000 start-ups by setting up an incubation centre in every district in the next five years. For this, courses related to entrepreneurship have been started in universities and colleges and a dedicated startup portal has also been created. Additionally, a Rs 200 crore Uttarakhand Venture Fund has been set up to support startups. The government is providing financial assistance, technical guidance and infrastructure to start-ups.
Chief Minister’s call to youth
CM Pushkar called upon the youth to promote entrepreneurship in the state by starting start-ups and take advantage of government schemes. He said that today the youth should become job givers rather than job seekers. The country is scaling new heights in the field of innovation and start-ups and Uttarakhand is also moving strongly in this direction.
Startup Policy 2023 and setting up of Innovation Hub
The Chief Minister said that Startup Policy 2023 has been implemented in the state, under which grants up to Rs 15 lakh are being provided for initial funding and an allowance of Rs 22 thousand per month is being provided for the initial phase. A world-class’ Uttarakhand Innovation Hub ‘is being set up at the IT Park in Dehradun at a cost of Rs 60 crore. So far, more than 1300 startups in the state have received recognition from the Government of India, out of which 50% startups are started by women.
- Start-up entrepreneurs share their ideas
- Various startup representatives presented their ideas and suggestions to the Chief Minister at the event.
- Shraddha Negi urged to promote ‘Vocal for Local’ and include local art in ‘One District One Product’.
- Kunal Uniyal called for inclusion of startups in policy making and innovation missions for digital infrastructure.
- Vikas Shah demanded subsidy and tax relief for high-performance electric bikes.
- Babita Singh suggested providing special support and infrastructure facilities for startups from rural areas.
- Swarleen Kaur requested the private incubators to join the government initiatives.
- Chandramani Kumar urged to promote protected farming in the hills and provide cold storage facility free of cost.
Officers present
Mayor Saurabh Thapliyal, Chairman Mandi Council Anil Dabboo, Principal Secretary R. K. Sudhanshu, Secretary Industries Vinay Shankar Pandey, Director General Industries Prateek Jain and other senior officers were present on the occasion.