Finance Minister Smt.Nirmala Sitharaman Presents “Startup Dhruv” Awards to Coimbatore StartUps.
Coimbatore: The StartUps Academy, Coimbatore, an organization set up to guide, enable and mentor startups in Coimbatore held an award ceremony to honor the winners of an inaugural pitching completion organized recently.
The president of The Startups Academy G Karthikeyan welcomed everyone to the august gathering with the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was the chief guest.
The Startups Academy is an NGO set up with this specific goal in mind – to Guide, Enable & Mentor startups in Coimbatore and surrounding areas.
In his welcome address Karthikeyan described the Indian economy as the fastest growing in the world and also spoke about the country’s startup ecosystem which is the third largest in the world. He elaborated upon the fact that 2021 alone saw 44 Indian startups turn unicorns and also thanked the government and the finance minister for their supportive policies which have helped the startup ecosystem across the country.
The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman spoke about the government’s forward looking policies for start-ups and the constant and consistent support and developmental structures offered to start ups. Prime among the policy measures are the abolition of angel tax, IT Exemptions for 3 years and capital gains tax exemptions for investors. These measures rationalized tax regulations and simplified the flow of risk capital enabling many startups to raise the requisite seed capital.
Some of the other measures worth elaborating upon include the Start Up India portal which enables self-certification and compliance with 9 environmental and labour laws, SIDBI’s Fund of Funds to facilitate investment in start-ups and Credit guarantee schemes.
Additional support is also provided in terms of incubation centres and tinkering labs. For many technology or machine based start-ups, these labs and incubators are a boon, allowing them to research and fine tune their products with efficient, affordable resources. Student innovators have also been encouraged through the establishment of NIDHI (National Initiative on Developing & Harnessing Innovation). This scheme aims to take forward student innovations by promoting student start-ups and accelerating the journey from idea to prototype by providing initial funding assistance.
She added that "She firmly believes that Coimbatore has the potential to show how great solutions could be found using web3 techs and lead in that domain. When you do that, you can elevate the startup world to a new level,she said.Speaking about the contributions of the Modi-led BJP Government to the industry. She said Congress had made some revisions in the policies in 1991 to usher growth in Industry and it did good to the sector.
However during the Congress regime, everything related to Industry was designed and decided centrally. Even when core industries had the potential to manufacture more, their aspirations were clipped due to the policies.
Following the takeover of Narendra Modi, the Indian Government has opened up opportunities to the industries; today except for a few sectors, the private sector can take part in defence sector, atomic energy and any sector that can give space for growth of the country and the industry."
She said the Government saw many youth come up with Innovation in the country, and hence in 2015 opportunity was also given to Startups with bright ideas to work with core sector projects. “I am asking a question to Coimbatore, this is a town where GD Naidu lived and disruption was his philosophy. How he made things work amazed people,” “Today we have come to the web3 world. We use AI, Big Data etc.
These tech give efficiency and if we deep dive, it can give progress to all sectors.” “As we are in the web3 era, we expect core industries to go from using some random patented innovative thoughts to using web3. Coimbatore should look at its advantages, see what aspects can be scaled up with that technology. Many have leapfrogged using this in the world.
We should look at how we can use this in every sector, and how efficiency could be achieved in all stages.” “I want Coimbatore startups to show the way forward with Web3 technology. When you do that all Cities leading in the startup zone (Hyderabad,Bengaluru, Gurgaon) can grow and you can take Start Up to a whole new level”, she expressed. “It can be used for not only cryptos, agri, analysis and standardizing products but in every sector. If Coimbatore tries to be a pioneer in Web3 tech, it can achieve a unique place and you can lead the country. I believe you can”.
Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu shared his thoughts on the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Coimbatore. He was appreciative of the thriving ecosystem and innovative people of the region who have contributed to making the city an industrial hub.
Vanathi Srinivasan, MLA Coimbatore South spoke about the incentives available to start ups such as SIDBI Fund of Funds, Credit Guarantee schemes, incubation centers and tinkering labs all meant to promote a healthy startup ecosystem throughout the country.
About The Startups Academy
The Startups Academy hopes to provide a boost to the local startup community by connecting them to mentors who can lead smart entrepreneurs in the right direction. Consequently, the FM also inaugurated a Mentor Mentee Connect on the website of the Startups Academy which will allow startups to connect with mentors based on their needs.
The pitching competition for startups was organized to allow local business leaders, who served as judges, to get to know and assess the budding entrepreneurs and startup ideas. The awards had four categories. The Super star award went to Juicy Chemistry. IamNeo, Vikra Ocean Tech & Clutch Health were selected as Rising Stars while “She Star” the special award category for women entrepreneurs went to Health Basix, 60PlusIndia & My Birthplace @ NA. The Emerging Star awards went to Glocl - an emerging new Hyperlocal social network, Agripro Industries & Nutrigenetics Life Science.