Government of India has a plan to set up Rs.5,000 crore fund to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, top official said Thursday.
An initial amount of $20 million (Rs.100 crore) would be provided to the India Inclusive Innovation Fund and the remaining amount would come via scheduled banks, insurance companies, financial institutions, corporates, high net worth individuals as well as bilateral and multilateral institutions, said Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram.
"This fund would help encourage and finance such products to boost scientific innovations that can improve the life of the common man," Mayaram, said while addressing a seminar on innovation on behalf of Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in the national capital region.
The seminar was organised by the ministry of financein association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on the occasion of 46th annual meeting of the board of governors of the Asian Development Bank.
The National Innovation Council, a part of the Planning Commission, has outlined the plan of setting up of the Rs.5,000 crore fund, said Mayaram.
The new fund is focused to drive and stimulate building an ecosystem of enterprise, entrepreneurship, and venture capital, targeted at innovative solutions for the bottom of the pyramid, Mayaram said.
FICCI president Naina Lal Kidwai laid emphasis on the need for greater collaborations between the government and the private sector in order to promote growth and innovation in the country.
"There is a growing conviction that breakthroughs in ideas and technology must be directed to ensuring that people from all social and economic strata, particularly those at the bottom of the pyramid, partake in the growth process," Kidwai said.
-With inputs from IANS
|
Comments: