It’s time to harvest sweet fruits of Start Up Rajasthan, a million rupee project proposed by state government as a part of its start-up policy publicized last October. The task of implementing this idea was handed to a special Rajasthan startup council formed for this occasion. In line with the promises made at 2-day long Rajasthan Startup Fest 2016 held last week (on 5th and 6th November) in Jaipur, state government-led RIICO (Rajasthan state Industrial and Investment Corporation) decided to propel novel business ideology in the state.
CM announced the allocation of Rs. 10.85 crore for financing new start-ups in the state under Budget 2016-2017.
Goals Set for Rajasthan Startup Fest Under Budget 2016-2017
- Exposing aspiring entrepreneurs to best business players, mentors and investors.
- Establishing a fruitful partnership with startup founders.
- Inspiring young students to think of new and better business strategies.
- Promotion of entrepreneurship opportunities in smaller cities. Jaipur, Udaipur and Kota are the leading cities on fest calendar.
Sticking to this objective, the state appointed a special Evaluation Committee to monitor business proposals sent by 47 companies in Rajasthan. After examining the applications thoroughly, board members selected 9 novel companies and decided to grant them finances for business operations. Each company listed on the record will receive Rs. 77 lakh cumulatively. Rajasthan start-up funding also includes an extra 10 lakh to help companies launch their products and services in the market.
RIICO Jaipur’s Criteria for Selection
The said 9 companies were selected based on the following parameters:
- Innovation Quotient
- Novelty of Idea
- Impact of their Business on Boosting Living Standards in State.
Apart from lending wings to fresh companies, Startup Oasis organized an exclusive ‘Student Startup Challenge’ at college level. Numerous group of students sent in creative ideas for this competition. Participants were awarded with cash price for their endeavours. The final winners of this competition were:
- Wrapper Picker from Global Institute of Technology: 1st Prize (Rs. 1 Lakh) for collecting plastic using roller mechanism.
- HiBuddy from Vivekanand Global University and Malviya Nagar National Institute of Technology: 2nd Price (Rs. 75,000) for promoting products via notebook covers.
- CabDay from LNMIIT: 3rd price (Rs. 50,000) for using low-cost shuttle services to resolve commuting problems in the city.
After the massive success of this fest in Jaipur, Rajasthan government plans to propagate it in other cities as well. With this, the authorities wish to boost the age-long entrepreneurial ecosystem, set up incubation centres to encourage aspiring young businessmen in the state and create better opportunities for earning through entrepreneurship. High ambitions and proper allocation of funds will help Rajasthan emerge as the leading investment and entrepreneurship capital in future!
