The Karnataka Cabinet Thursday approved the ‘Karnataka Startup Policy 2025-2030’, which aims to establish 25,000 startups over the next five years, of which 10,000 startups will be located in clusters outside Bengaluru.
The financial outflow for the policy is set at Rs 518.27 crore. Apart from increasing focus on existing initiatives for the startup sector in the state, the policy also moots fresh programs to increase the startup footprint. Among the initiatives is ‘Elevate NxT’, which aims to support startups across the state focusing on DeepTech in sectors such as AI, Biotechnology, Quantum Computing, Climate tech, Space tech and others, according to the Policy document accessed by The Indian Express.
It has proposed an ‘Alternate Investment Bridge’, which looks at innovative schemes to finance startups. This “will diversify the funding landscape and bring valuable industry linkages, market insights and credibility that boost investor confidence,” the Policy said, noting that it would help startups accelerate their product development, pilot new solutions and offer market exposure to new startups.
It will assist in setting up new incubation centres by private entities, offering a one-time capital grant of either 50 per cent of fixed cost investments or Rs 50 lakh (whichever is less). This will not be applicable to land and buildings required for such centres.
The policy aspires to set up Growth Labs to boost startups outside Bengaluru. Six cities in Karnataka have been divided into two clusters, with one growth lab proposed in each of the clusters. Other initiatives include reimbursement of PF/ESI of Rs 3,000 per employee per month for the first two years of employment (capped at Rs 12 lakh per company), subsidies for cloud storage and incentives for research and development projects.