In a significant push to expand IT incubation space and encourage more start-up ventures, the State government has decided to support private entities setting up IT incubation facilities.
The government has also decided to go in for tie-ups with reputed national and international agencies for setting up incubators and accelerators in the State and revise the IT policy to align it with the national-level Start-up India campaign. This will result in better incentives for start-ups in the State.
Based on a proposal from the Kerala Start-up Mission (KSUM), IT Secretary M. Sivasankar issued orders this week to facilitate development of an additional 5 lakh sqft of incubation space outside the existing incubators in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode, where the KSUM already has plans to develop 5 lakh sqft of incubation space.
The agencies eligible for support under the new policy are classified into three. The first consists of government departments, agencies, international agencies, commodity boards and industry associations, reputed international incubators or accelerators, which have been operational in international locations for at least three years.
The second includes incubators approved by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) or any other Indian agency which have been operational for two years or more and having experience in managing incubators or accelerators in other parts of India.
