Government Planning to Increase Startup Sector Investments in India

Government Planning to Increase Startup Sector Investments 

According to a report by The Economic Times (ET), the Centre has begun work on an action plan to facilitate investment in the nation's startup sector, which is likely to entail scaling up the seven-year-old Startup India initiative. According to a government official, the government intends to identify obstacles for Indian entrepreneurs in the areas of taxation, regulatory clearances, and ease of doing business. Time-bound goals are being considered for the startup ecosystem.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is thinking about creating metrics like investments, job creation, and the quantity of startups in a sector to track their performance in order to support the plan.

DPIIT has designated 98,119 organisations as startups as of April 20, 2023. According to their own estimates, these firms will generate 2,70,000 direct jobs in 2020; 2,01,000 in 2021; and 1,59,000 jobs in 2022. As of April 30, the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme's expert advisory group had approved Rs. 611.36 billion. Officials told ET that the ministries must meet their goals for the action plan and increase their capacity to help the nation's expanding startup scene.

According to the official, the Centre is attempting to work on policy interventions and provide short- and medium-term recommendations to support the startup ecosystem in order to encourage investment into startups and facilitate the startup ecosystem in the nation. 

Centre Working on GPU Cluster to Boost Indian AI Startups

The government is preparing a sizable graphics processing unit (GPU) cluster under the India AI programme, according to Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, in order to support businesses aiming to train artificial intelligence models in the nation. In order to train neural networks for image and video processing, a cluster of computers with GPUs on each node is known as a GPU.

Under the Rs. 1,100–1,200 crore design-linked incentive plan, the minister stated that the government is looking to support startups and foreign businesses that want to develop local intellectual property in semiconductor design for AI applications.

"Applications like ChatGPT are frequently brought up in conversations about AI nowadays. Real-world AI use cases are our goal. We are designing AI-specific integrated circuits for such applications in the areas of health, governance, and education," he said.

The day before Micron's semiconductor packaging and assembly plant in Sanand, Gujarat, was set to break ground, Chandrasekhar stated in a speech in Delhi that the project would send a message to other chip manufacturers and financiers to take India more seriously as a participant in the global electronics value chain. The $2.75 billion (roughly Rs. 22,540 crore) semiconductor assembly and test facility for computer storage chip manufacturer. Micron will be built in Gujarat, the business announced on June 22.

Indian Startups Advance in Making Protein Without Animal Cruelty 

In a world where veganism has taken over popular culture and the cruelty-free label is worn proudly, startups like Phyx44 and Mycovation are prepared to profit from the food trend. They are a part of precision fermentation, a more extensive worldwide trend in the alternative protein sector. The goal is to achieve the taste of the "real thing" as closely as possible without endangering or relying on animals.

Litres and litres of milk at Phyx44 in Bengaluru is similar to the milk we take from cows and buffaloes. It is chemically comparable to the creamy white frothy liquid from the animals, yet its origins are extremely different. No animals were harmed in the manufacturing process and the 'smart proteins' were used. The introduction of a genetic code that instructs the cow's body how to manufacture milk within bacteria caused them to produce the proteins that are necessary parts of milk. In order to enhance the flavour and texture of plant-based meats, Mycovation in Mysuru is working to produce fungi-derived proteins. The firm does this using fungus filamentous filaments.

Canada Pension Fund Large Investments in Indian Startups

At least Rs. 21,440.5 crore has been invested by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) in numerous Indian businesses. According to information from start-up tracker Tracxn, this is online insurance and claims management startup Acko, education unicorn Byju's, and logistics firm Delhivery. 

Additionally, the fund has invested in the news and short video startup VerSe, the e-commerce giant Flipkart, the new energy company ReNew Power, and the L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Ltd (L&T IDPL) platform. Eruditus, which garnered almost Rs. 7,633 crore, has received the biggest wager. Flipkart is in second place with Rs. 6663.5 billion, while Rs. 2,310 crore was invested in ReNew. The pension fund has investments in several other businesses as well.

Earlier stakes include Paytm, a provider of financial services, and IndoSpace, which creates industrial and warehousing parks. Additionally, it has made investments in the loan firm Kogta Financial and the company ACT, which offers fibre optic broadband and other associated services.