Reassuring aspiring entrepreneurs, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said the government will pay special attention to policies to boost the start-up ecosystem in the State.
Interacting with students at the IEDC Summit 2017 organised by the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) at Angamaly on Saturday, Mr. Vijayan said the government would focus on promoting young and budding entrepreneurs by evolving policies and ensuring all necessary support for them.
Calling upon young entrepreneurs to step up innovation and excellence levels, the Chief Minister said the prototypes exhibited by students at the event proved that they could scale new heights.
He also inaugurated a start-up venture, Traffitizer, which helps ambulances stuck in traffic.
An emergency response system, Traffitizer is a centralised Internet of Things-based system, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) at various levels. AI enables automatic switching of traffic lights to green for ambulances to pass through, according to a release.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan exuded confidence that young entrepreneurs could convert emerging challenges into opportunities. “I am overwhelmed when I see youngsters like six-year-old Saarang Sumesh, who developed a humanoid that can fire bullets,” she said.
In his address, State IT Secretary M. Sivasankar said the government would come up with schemes to support the start-up ecosystem. He also released the KSUM status report at the event. Delivering the keynote address, Kuncheria P. Issac, Vice Chancellor of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technological University, said the varsity had plans to introduce a degree course in entrepreneurship.
KSUM Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Saji Gopinath said the agency would extend programmes conducted by the Innovation Entrepreneurship Development Centre (IEDC) to 500 colleges in the coming year.
“The IEDC’s role is to evangelise students, promote innovations, and incubate those with potential. We also want students to support innovators who have not been formally trained,” he said.
Google India vice president Rajan Anandan said India was witnessing a revolutionary change on the digital platform. “Gone are the days when India lagged behind in technology. India’s start-up ventures are making big revolutions across the world,” he added.
Scott O’Brien, CEO and co-founder of Humense, a Sydney-based start-up, pointed out that young entrepreneurs should have thorough knowledge of the industry and passion to enhance their goals.
The event also witnessed the State’s Bitcoin Airdrop initiative, joining in a worldwide initiative that sees cities, Fintech organisations, and educational institutions in 11 regions mine and distribute free bitcoins to grow their local digital currency communities.
