Government boost to start-ups will lead to economic, social makeover of UP: Minister

› There is no dearth of talent in the state. By encouraging startups, the economic and social transformation of Uttar Pradesh can be ensured. MOHSIN RAZA, UP minister

LUCKNOW : UP minister for information technology and electronics Mohsin Raza on Saturday stated that SMEs and start-ups generate employment to a much greater extent as compared to large businesses and the government is committed to promoting them.

Raza was speaking at the UP Start-up Conclave organised by the state government in association with Lucknow Management Association and IIM, Lucknow, on the IIM campus.

Addressing the gathering, Raza said: “The government places much emphasis on start-ups that focus on finding solutions to real-life problems faced by people through innovation.

“The state government has allocated a big budget to promote start-ups. There is no dearth of talent in the state. By encouraging start-ups, the economic and social transformation of Uttar Pradesh can be ensured”.

He added that the start-up conclave will significantly contribute to this objective and hoped that the collaborating agencies of

this conclave will continue efforts to organise more such events in the future too.

The state government has come up with a separate policy for start-ups and SMEs.

Also speaking on the occasion, UP additional chief secretary, department of IT and Electronics, Alok Sinha said: “The government is committed to developing and implementing the start-up policy and providing necessary infrastructure to encourage start-ups.”

“This conclave will generate not only a competitive spirit among start-ups but will also create

meaningful support in terms of know-how of business and funding their enterprise,” added Sinha.

Lucknow Management Association vice-president AK Mathur said: “In a bid to promote start-ups, the LMA has been organising activities related to the issue for the past two years.”

“The UP Start-up Conclave has received an overwhelming response from all stakeholders. It is the biggest such event in the state so far that has brought together young and not-so-young start-ups in direct contact with various stakeholders including mentors, incubators and investors,” said Mathur.

“The LMA with its huge resource base of close to 2,000 members, including premier institutes like IIM Lucknow, are actively collaborating on this event and will continue to support this initiative of the government through similar programmes in the future,” added Mathur.

IIM Lucknow director Ajit Prasad delivered the vote of thanks.

Prominent among those present on the occasion, included PayTM vice-president Saurabh Jain, KC Ayyagari from Google India and CEO - AARK Tech Access founder Rishi Srivastava.