Rajasthan to become north India’s startup hub in the next five years

Yes, you are reading it correct. The land of rajwadas, which is well-known for its appetizing cuisines and royal forts, might soon become a startup hub. According to reports, the state government is planning to establish around 500 startups by 2020.

Under its startup policy, which is expected to be announced next week, the state has already shed Rs 55 crore for the coming five years, reported The Economic Times.

Veenu Gupta, Principal Secretary, Industries at Government of Rajasthan says, “We plan to bring investments of up to Rs 500 crore in next five years and help set up at least 500 startups in the state, with the help of India's leading venture capital firms, accelerators and tech companies."

Gupta, who is also the Managing Director for Rajasthan Industrial development and Investment Corporation (RIICO) says that the government will provide an assistance of Rs 10 lakh per startup in the form of equity or loan.

The partner organisations like Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad's Centre for Innovation, Incubation & Entrepreneurship will do the screening of startups.

Apart form Rajasthan, only Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have launched a dedicated policy for tech-based startups.
Moreover, the state plans to set-up about 50 incubators in the coming five years and it intends to take help of partner organisations like Rajasthan Venture Capital Fund, IIM-A's CIIE, Rajasthan Angel Investors Network (RAIN) and Chennai-based Impact investment firm Villgro.

Rajasthan currently possess venture-funded startups including CarDekho and Culture Alley, besides a tech park in Jaipur with firms such as Infosys and Genpact. Moreover, eCommerce firms like Amazon, Flipkart, Urban Ladder and PepperFry too source a huge amount of textiles and furniture form the state.

"A challenge for Rajasthan-based startups is visibility, which impacts fundraising and hiring. Initiatives like incubation could go a long way for VCs, talent, and potential customers to get to know of exciting startups here," said Nishant Patni, CEO of Jaipur-based language app startup Culture Alley, which raised $6.1 million (Rs 36 crore) in funds this year from New York-based Tiger Global Management and a few angel investors.

Image source