Chief economic advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran on Sunday said startups will play a key role in helping India become the third largest economy in the world. He said that India s tier 2 and tier 3 cities including Thiruvananthapuram have turned out to be game changers in helping startups flourish in India, PTI reported.

Under the Elevate Karnataka programme, the government will fund around 100 startups with a committed budget of Rs 20 crore this year. The startups that need funding and mentoring to scale up can apply till December. The government will provide a onetime grant of up to Rs 50 lakh to each startup to encourage innovators who may need early-stage funding. Karnataka is the first state in the country to provide grant-in-aid to startups without taking equity in return.

Startups secured $19 million, a 94% fall from the previous five-day period wherein the total deal value stood at $342 million. Parallelly, deal volume last week fell significantly as seven PE/VC transactions were recorded in the five-day period. In contrast, 30 deals were recorded in the previous five-day period, one of the highest recorded in the year.

Funding in women led startups in India decreased from 183 startups in 2014 to a mere 7 this year to date, according to a new report. The funding landscape for women led companies showed a significant surge in the number of rounds, rising from 171 in 2014 to 460 in 2022.

Speaking on the concluding day of the Huddle Global 2023 organised by the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), Nageswaran said the tier2 and 3 cities, including Thiruvananthapuram, have become gamechangers in helping startups flourish in the country due to improvements in infrastructure and supportive policies of the respective government, a KSUM release said.

Startups will play an important role in helping India become the third largest economy in the world, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) to the Union government V Anantha Nageswaran has said. Nageswaran said that tier2 and 3 cities, including Kerala s capital, have become gamechangers in helping startups flourish in the country due to improvements in infrastructure and supportive policies of the government, according to a KSUM release.

India s startups are showing an inherent advantage in their ability to attract, retain and promote women compared to traditional enterprises. (Photo by RDNE Stock Project via Pexels) 2023 has been significant in terms of bringing gender equity in the workforce into focus. While WEF s Global Gender Gap Report ranks India at 127 on gender parity overall, and at 142 on women s economic participation, there have been some glimmers of hope.