Tamil Nadu is currently home to over 10,800 start-ups, says T.M. Anbarasan

Tamil Nadu sees a surge in start-ups, with over 10,800 registered, 50% founded by women, as per Minister Anbarasan.

Until March 2021, only 2,032 start-ups were registered in Tamil Nadu, and now, this number has increased to over 10,800 and nearly 50% of these are founded by women, Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) T.M. Anbarasan said.

Delivering the valedictory address at The Hindu Tamil Nadu Startup Summit-25, the Minister said a regional innovation centre had been planned in Thoothukudi in this fiscal. “In the last four years, regional innovation centres have been established in Erode, Tirunelveli, Hosur, Salem, Cuddalore, Thanjavur, and Coimbatore.”

Mr. Anbarasan shared details of various projects that were executed in the last four years. “Around 31,11,000 students studying in schools and colleges have been provided with entrepreneurship and innovation training. Over 205 start-ups have benefited under the TANSEED scheme (including 36 Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/STs) start-ups). The government has given a total of ₹69.99 crore in funding,” he said.

“Launch pad programmes are being conducted to introduce new businesses. ‘Pre Incubation Centres’ have been set up in educational institutions across cities in Tamil Nadu,” he added.

The Minister said that at the Global Investors Meet, which was held in January last year, around 5,068 memoranda of understanding were signed in the MSMEs sector. These agreements are expected to generate employment for 91,785 people. “And of these, around 2,360 companies have already been launched, entailing investments of ₹25,097 crore. Work is in progress to launch the remaining companies soon,” he added. Mr. Anbarasan also mentioned how 59,584 entrepreneurs were created. This includes 21,281 are women, 9,224 are from SC/STs, 2,497 are from minority communities and 717 are disabled individuals. “These initiatives have promoted entrepreneurship across all sections of society, ensuring equality and social justice, as envisioned by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin,” he said.

Suresh Balakrishna, Chief Revenue Officer, The Hindu Group (THG), felicitated the Minister in the presence of L.V. Navaneeth, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), THG Publishing Private Limited, and Sivarajah Ramanathan, Mission Director and CEO, StartupTN.