New Delhi: The government is working on a new policy to financially support deep-tech startups so that India can be globally competitive in technology as well as boost its space, defence, energy, medical sciences and pharmaceuticals capabilities, Ajay Kumar Sood, chairperson of the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC), and principal scientific advisor to the government, said in an interview.
New Delhi: The government is working on a new policy to financially support deep-tech startups so that India can be globally competitive in technology as well as boost its space, defence, energy, medical sciences and pharmaceuticals capabilities, Ajay Kumar Sood, chairperson of the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC), and principal scientific advisor to the government, said in an interview.
Deep-tech startups will contribute to the development of indigenous technologies across various sectors, propelling India to greater competitiveness. A policy is in the works to support these entities, with the commitment to offer long-term financial support, Sood said.
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Deep-tech startups will contribute to the development of indigenous technologies across various sectors, propelling India to greater competitiveness. A policy is in the works to support these entities, with the commitment to offer long-term financial support, Sood said.
“You have to be competitive, means you have to have your own technology. That is where deep tech startups, which are based on very innovative science and engineering, come. Such startups are very few in India. Most are service-oriented startups, which is okay. But out of the 100,000 startups (in India), hardly 10,000 can be called deep tech. That’s what we must increase. So, our office along with other ministries prepared a document, Deep Tech Startup Policy, which we had put on our website for consultation. Feedback is in and Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is preparing a cabinet note to make a policy intervention for encouraging deep tech startups.” With this, India can be globally competitive, and be a net exporter of technology, Sood said.
Long-term financial support will aid in ensuring sustainability of deep-tech startups, he said. “They need support. There is an India startup fund already. That has to be geared up for deep-tech startups because they need long duration funding, as these ventures require a longer time horizon to take off.”
Such ventures cannot succeed overnight, what is now on cards is a modification to existing funding schemes to suit the requirement of deep tech startups, he added. The Startup India seed funding scheme, that offers early-stage financing to enterprises not older than two-years, has an outlay of ₹945 crore, according to information available with the government.
Sood said India has already made significant progress in certain key areas of technology, especially in digital public good, which has helped transform the payment and fintech segments. This ground-breaking public-private partnership can be replicated in education to enhance access to education in a big way, he said. “Digital public infrastructure is an example of success which we should emulate in other areas such as PM’s e-vidya programme. Digital education is going to be big as we have a large young population and we have a demographic advantage.”
Sood said while self-reliance is a key policy priority, India does not have to reinvent the wheel. According to him, the key goal is to leapfrog from the current level.
“We have to understand that self-reliance does not mean we have to do everything ourselves and we remain closed to the world. Self-reliance would mean whatever innovation we do, we must be confident of ourselves so that we lead in some technologies. We should not be only followers. Obviously, there are gaps right now, (but) in a few areas, we will be definitely ahead of the curve.” Sood also highlighted how India showed its prowess in covid-19 vaccination, and in providing testing kits at a time of crises, besides success across medical instruments, food processing and neutraceuticals.
An email query to DPIIT on Tuesday seeking comments remained unanswered till press time.
