Tamil Nadu to launch new startup and innovation policy to encourage entrepreneurship

The Tamil Nadu government will soon unveil a new Startup and Innovation policy to encourage new startups targeting the socio-economic development of the State, Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Tuesday.

In the process he would ensure the involvement of new entrepreneurs and youth into the economic mainstream and also work towards achieving the USD 1 trillion economy, he said. "My dream is Tamil Nadu should become the numero uno investment destination in South Asia. Development has been planned to ensure adequate representation of regions and districts in the State," Stalin said while speaking at the Tamil Nadu Startups and Incubators meet here.

"The Dravidian model of governance aims at striving with the noble aim of making everything available to all," he said.

Since his government came to power, six investor conclaves were organised with an investment commitment of Rs 2.20 lakh crore, he said. Previously, the Startup and Innovation Policy was launched in 2019 by the then AIADMK government for enabling the ecosystem for startups and make the State a global hub in the sector.

The Chief Minister launched three Startup Tamil Nadu Regional Hubs at Madurai, Tirunelveli and Erode and also 5 accelerator programmes in Industry 4.0 besides the i-TNT Hub in Anna University here coming up at a cost of Rs 54.6 crore.

The i-TNT Hub is India's first emerging and DeepTech Innovation Network coming up on about 25,000 sq ft area.

It will function as an accelerator-cum-incubator for startups working in DeepTechnologies.

Startup TN Accelerator is designed to propel growth stage startups with a minimum viable product to the next stage through rigorous upskilling, mentoring and access to the right resources.

Under the third edition of the flagship Tamil Nadu Startup Seed Grant Fund (TANSEED), Stalin disbursed the first tranche of Rs 1.55 crore providing Rs 5 lakh each to 31 startup beneficiaries who included 18 women founders or co-founders, on the occasion.