A two lakh sq. ft. incubator in Lucknow and a ₹1,000-crore Fund of Funds are a couple of initiatives that the Uttar Pradesh government has proposed to support start-ups.
The incubator, proposed on the lines of T-Hub in the city, would be the largest such in the country. While the location has been identified, other details were being worked out, Additional Chief Secretary to Uttar Pradesh Department of IT and Electronics Sanjiv Saran said on Tuesday.
Mr. Saran was part of a delegation that the U.P.’s Industrial Development Minister Satish Mahana led to the Hyderabad roadshow for the Investors Summit-2018 to be held in Lucknow. Noting that the U.P. government had recently unveiled IT and Start-up Policy, the official said there were 2,000 start-ups and SIDBI was managing a ₹100 crore for them.
The Minister assured the investors of a consistent and supportive policy environment in the State. Under the IT and Start-up Policy, incubators capital grant for infrastructure set-up along with the support to meet operational expenses for five years would be provided. The process of on-boarding the Fund Manager is expected to be completed soon to operationalise the ₹1,000-crore Fund of Funds for extending growth capital to U.P.-based start-ups. Welcoming investments in focus areas – IT, electronics, manufacturing, food processing, energy, textiles – Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey said from January 1, a host of approvals for industrial projects would be provided online. A district-wise online assessment and monitoring of the measures, aimed at improving the ease of doing business, would also be put in place. The State, he said, also had an attractive incentive scheme for new projects and was in the process of introducing a policy to attract filmmakers.
On the expectations of the State from the Summit, he said MoUs for projects entailing ₹1 lakh crore investment would be the target.
A press release said the roadshow was attended by representatives of several companies, including Micromax, Musaddilal Projects, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Aurobindo Pharma, Apollo Hospitals, Tech Mahindra, Celkon Mobiles and Dodla Dairy. Whole-Time Director of GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd P.V. Prasanna Reddy expressed the Group’s interest in investing in upcoming airports, specially Jewar Airport, the release said.
