In order to catch up on the entrepreneurial wave currently going on in the entire nation, the Rajasthan government has decided to take some significant steps so as to put the state on the Indian startup map.

According to a statement given by a senior Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (RIICO) official at the Udaipur startup fest, the government is contemplating preparing the home ground for setting up seven incubation centres in potential locations in the state. In order to make this plan a reality, the government has already set aside a budget of Rs 2.70 crore for the current financial year.

The allocated 2.70 crore budget will be used for funding startups and setting up incubation centres in about seven government-run engineering colleges. According to Veenu Gupta, MD, RIICO, the Udaipur startup fest was in line with the vision of the startup policy announced last year.

She further added that the government is taking firm steps like this to reproduce the success Jaipur has achieved in building the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the whole of Rajasthan. According to her, "Udaipur is an ideal destination for developing a vibrant ecosystem for startups as the city has IIM, five private universities and other required infrastructure."

In order to not waste any further time to give Rajasthan an entrepreneurial boost, RIICO has made two panels which have been given the responsibility to screen and provide financial support to startups and build incubation centres. The administrative reforms department has been assigned the duty to issue orders relating to the formation of State Level Implementation committee and appraisal panel in a month or so's time.

Entrepreneurs and businesses who are on a lookout for early-stage funding support from the government can apply through any of the incubation centres being built in places like Kota, Ajmer, Bharatpur, Udaipur, etc. The power of final selection of these startups rests with the State Level Implementation committee.

Sharing his viewpoints on the bright future of entrepreneurship in Udaipur, Chintan Bakhshi, chief operating officer of Startup Oasis, an incubation centre set up by RIICO and Centre for Innovation, Incubation & Entrepreneurship, said with the presence of ecosystem players like incubators, TiE, co-working spaces and institutes like IIM-Udaipur, the beautiful lake city can prove to be a fertile ground for startups to emerge and compete with others on the national stage. According to him, the city currently has around 20 early stage startups that are currently hunting for funding.

In the next financial year, RIICO plans to provide the startups a financial support of Rs 10.85 crore, which will be a significant jump from this years 2.70 crore budget. The Udaipur Startup fest ended up witnessing a participation of 100 startups, 15 angel and venture capital investors, 30 mentors and 20 speakers.
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