State to have new startup policy soon: Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge

BENGALURU: The first day of the Global Mobile App Summit and Awards (GMASA) 2016 saw a turnout of over 1000 participants from various startups and enthusiasts. The summit was inaugurated by Priyank Kharge, Minister for IT, Government of Karnataka in the presence of A P Muruganandam, National Co-ordinator of the ‘Make in India’ campaign and other dignitaries. GMASA is organized by Apps World Magazine is association with ‘Make in India’ and NASSCOM.

Giving his inaugural address, Priyank Kharge congratulated the organizers on their effort and the way the event has shaped. He said, “The Karnataka State Government is amending a new startup policy, and therefore I welcome all of you to send in your valuable suggestions to us. We are coming up with a start-up booster kit where companies can register their startup with Karnataka Biotechnology and Information Technology Services –KBITS. We will assist these startups to the best of our ability. Subsidized plans for high speed internet, Incubator facility, Subsidized license products, Mentor facility, Financial experts, Accounting and Legal assistance are among the key services we will offer for creating conductive ecosystem for anyone who has an idea. We will also soon announce an investment of up to 50 Lakhs for startups across sectors. A separate fund of 10 Crore rupees is separately set up for women startup entrepreneurs across any vertical. We have identified nine universities in the state and have a budget of upto 40 Lakhs to encourage students to work on startup ideas.

The minister also announced a new initiative called ‘Startup Open House’ which will soon be started where the IT Minister and his team of associates will interact with enthusiasts and work together on coming up with newer and friendlier solutions for Startups. This will be a monthly activity that will happen on a pre fixed date. The first day also witnessed several interesting panel discussions moderated by people well known in the industry.

Speaking on the occasion, C R Venkatesh, Chairman of GMASA said, “We are overwhelmed with the amazing response we have received. The event has seen participation of sponsors, participants and speakers from across the globe. With the assured support of the IT Minister and others we are keen on bringing out a few more editions of the event in the coming year”

GMASA has 19 categories under which the app developers are to submit their applications. The categories varied from apps developed for entertainment, education, lifestyle, media & video, news, medical, music, games, social media apps, to name a few. GMASA also offers the winners a chance to contact potential sponsors and partners as well as gain knowledge from workshops on to how to turn their local app into a global success.

The summit will entail interesting panel discussions, key note addresses from top speakers in the industry, entertainment, exhibition, workshop and start-up pitch fest with tea and lunch breaks in between. The app developer’s awards will be announced on the last day of the summit.