Registered start-ups in Tamil Nadu has tripled in last two years, says Chief Minister

Tamil Nadu startups tripled in 2.5 yrs, said Chief Minister Stalin at Startup Thiruvizha held in Coimbatore; Govt. offers ₹10 lakhs seed funding, mentoring ad linkages with investors. Tamil nadu government to start global coordination centre in Dubai. 25 MSME clusters developed at ₹113 cr.

The number of start-ups registered in Tamil Nadu has tripled in the last two-and-a-half years, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said on Saturday.

In a recorded message played at the inaugural function of ‘Startup Thiruvizha’, a two-day event organised by StartupTN here, he said that the number of registered start-ups in the State in March 2021 was 2,300 and it stood at over 6,800 now. The growth of MSMEs and start-ups is important for the State’s industrial development, he added.

The State government gives seed fund (TANSEED) to some start-ups. In the two years, it has allotted ₹15 crore and about 130 start-ups have benefited. As a special fund to invest in start-ups started by Adi Dravidar entrepreneurs, the government allocated ₹30 crore last financial year and ₹50 crore this fiscal. It offers mentoring programmes, linkages with investors and several other services for such start-ups, the Chief Minister said, adding that the government would soon start a global coordination centre in Dubai to enable start-ups to tap into overseas markets and investments.

The ‘Thiruvizha’ has 450 stalls where start-ups exhibited their products and services. Nearly 10,000 visitors are expected. Talks and discussions by nearly 50 experts will be held as part of the programme and about 1,500 people are expected to attend them.

Minister for MSME T.M. Anbarasan and Minister for Industries T.R.B. Rajaa were present at the function.

Mr. Anbarasan said information technology, robotics, artificial intelligence and nano-technology were revolutionising the industrial landscape.

Tamil Nadu is recognised as a start-up leader. Start-ups in Chennai attracted ₹150 crore in investments, 71% more than the previous year. Incubators were set up in 81 educational institutions in the State at a cost of ₹22.41 crore and nearly 75,000 students have benefited. Of these, 295 students have come up with innovative products, he added.