TiECON: Minister Sondh announces additional ₹10-lakh grant for startups working beyond incubation stage

With an aim to take Punjab’s startups to greater heights, Punjab industries and IT minister Tarunpreet Singh Sondh on Friday announced an additional impetus comprising ₹10 lakh grant to startups who begin performing beyond the incubation stage.

“With the support of institutions like Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), IISER and others, the government gives ₹3 lakh each as ‘seed money’ to budding entrepreneurs to implement their ideas. Though we understand the amount is not huge, it contributes highly for the young minds. Now, we have decided that for supporting businesses and young people’s ideas, we will give a ₹10 lakh grant each to those startups who work well with the ₹3 lakh seed money,” Sondh said.

The announcement came during the two-day flagship event of the Chandigarh chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE)—“TiECon” that concluded on Friday.

The minister, who also holds charge of the ministries of rural development and panchayats and hospitality, also envisioned an online integration of different departments for fast-tracking approvals for budding ideas and business propositions.

“Punjab has been ranked number one in the country in the ‘ease of business’ ranking and we are determined to ensure that the dreams of our budding entrepreneurs fructify, leading to creation of jobs and wealth for the state, region and nation. As many as ₹90,000 crores worth of Common Application Forms (CAFs) have been signed by the state, indicating that projects have progressed beyond the initial stages and their implementations are actually visible on the ground,” Sondh said.

“The Bhagwant Mann government does not believe in signing MOUs on paper only. We make things happen,” the minister added.

Additional chief secretary industries, Tejveer Singh, said, “The ‘Start Up Punjab’ programme was given top ranking by the Union government as we have more than 1,700 registered startups in the region. Last year, the chief minister had announced that startup incubators would be extended outside of Mohali to other areas of Punjab. We have already started up an incubator centre in Ludhiana. Though Amritsar also has an STPI, the Punjab government is working to start more incubators in Jalandhar, Bathinda and other areas of the state to promote startups.”

“Our region has sound educational facilities which are creating a student base with the skill set needed to thrive in the IT field,” he added.