TN Budget: Technology hub, start-up hub centre to be set up in Chennai

Regional start-up hubs will be set up in Erode, Madurai and Tirunelveli; a corpus of ₹30 crore will be provided to TANSIM to support start-ups by SC and ST entrepreneurs, the Finance Minister announced

The Tamil Nadu government will set up an i-Tamil Nadu Technology (iTNT) hub at a cost of ₹54.61 crore in Chennai. This centre will coordinate efforts to use technology to solve complex challenges in the State, Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan said in the State Legislative Assembly on Friday.

The government has formulated a comprehensive strategy to develop a conducive start-up eco-system in the State, he said. “The government will contribute ₹50 crore to the Emerging Sector Seed Fund for making equity investments in Tamil Nadu based start-ups. Further, this fund will be used to leverage capital from institutional investors.”

The Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission (TANSIM) would set up Regional Start-up Hubs in Erode, Madurai and Tirunelveli to ensure the development of the start-up eco-system in all regions across Tamil Nadu. An iconic State Start-up Hub Centre with all facilities will be established by the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) at Nandambakkam, Chennai at an estimated cost of ₹75 crore, he said.

To support the start-ups based in Tamil Nadu, government departments and public sector undertakings would be allowed to do direct procurement of innovative manufactured products up to ₹50 lakh, the Minister said.

A corpus of ₹30 crore will be provided to TANSIM to support start-ups by Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC and ST) entrepreneurs.

“In order to encourage entrepreneurs from SC and ST communities, 5% of all divisible procurement by Government and Governmental agencies shall be reserved for products manufactured by Tamil Nadu-based SC and ST entrepreneurs,” the Minister said.