Bangalore may well have taken a march ahead of Hyderabad in Information Technology, but IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao on Wednesday said that the race to make Hyderabad the start-up capital of India is definitely on. The Minister pointed out that the upcoming incubation facility at IIIT, Hyderabad, dubbed as ‘T-Hub’, will be inaugurated by this year-end or latest by next January.
“We want Hyderabad to be identified with start-ups. In the West, universities played a big role in nurturing young talent, which ultimately created huge IT companies. We will provide similar environment to Indian start-ups in Hyderabad. Youngsters just need to have a great idea, the business plan, technical support and legal support like help on intellectual property rights etc. will be taken care by T-Hub,” Mr. Rama Rao said.
August-Fest As a precursor to the T-Hub, the IT Minister also announced details of August-Fest, arguably the largest congregation of close to 1,500 start-ups from across India who are slated to participate. The August Fest is aimed at encouraging start-ups who have a great concept, but not enough capital to build on them. In fact, the fest, being organised at ISB between August 30 and 31, will also provide instant funding of up to Rs. 10 lakh to at least 25 best start-ups.
“Ultimately, the idea is to promote and incubate start-ups from early stage to production stage. Around 60 engineering students from 10 colleges will also get an opportunity to pitch their ideas in the fest. Almost all the top IT organisations are with us for August Fest,” the IT Minister said.
Giving a few more details on the upcoming T-Hub, Mr. Rama Rao said that incubation centre will house close to 400 start-ups. “A bigger stand alone T-Hub is also being planned. We are working closely with ISB, NALSAR and IIIT to make this concept a success,” he said. The August Fest will have complete ecosystem of start-ups including TiE Hyderabad, HYSEA, NASSCOM, IIIT-H and angel investors.
