To support startups and entrepreneurs working in the information and communications technology (ICT) space, the government of India is planning to set up of 51 new startup incubators across India as part of its Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE) 2.0 scheme, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) tweeted on Monday.
“Proposals for incubation centres will be invited from organisations of higher learning and R&D organisations across India- having incubation facilities,” the ministry tweeted.
Initially launched in 2008, the TIDE scheme was revised in 2017, hence TIDE 2.0. The scheme aims to assist institutions of higher learning to strengthen their Technology Incubation Centers and enable young entrepreneurs to initiate technology startup companies for commercial exploitation of technologies developed by them.
The selection of upcoming 51 incubators are categorized in to three groups — Group 1 Centre (G1C), Group 2 Centre (G2C), and Group 3 Centre (G3C).
While G1C would have incubators offering “deep support” to startups including “mentoring, capacity building, investment and post-investment advisory”, G2C incubators would support “aspiring entrepreneurs and students” to launch their startups. G3C incubators would have to promote entrepreneurship in “unexplored regions”, as per its website.
In prerequisite, G1C, G2C and G3C should have 6, 25, and 20 incubations centres respectively in order to qualify. G1C should have 3 years and G2C should have 2 years of experience in offering incubation services along with tie-ups with industry bodies. G3C incubators should have at least an incubator or entrepreneurship cell.
Tide 2.0 would offer financial and technical support to incubators supporting ICT startups that are involving usage of deep technologies including artificial intelligence, blockchain, robotics, and internet of things in “pre-identified areas of societal relevance,” the ministry said.
More than 270 incubators and accelerators, which are managed by academic bodies, private players, government, and corporate, existed in the country till November last year. Over 70 incubators in India have been given financial support by respective state governments in the past two years, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade had said in last year’s States’ Startup Ranking.
Currently, there are 27 TIDE centres under the TIDE scheme are being supported at academic institutions across India.
TIDE Incubation Centers provide a gamut of services to new enterprises and facilitate linkages congenial for their survival and growth. The centres network with Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists who provide mentoring and financial support to the startups and enable tenant companies to mature over a period of 2-3 years and ultimately graduate to a commercial place to transact actual business.
