Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal recently proposed a Russian Startup model to be implemented in India to augment the growth of India's startups and unicorns. According to the Union Minister, this Russian model can significantly boost the startup ecosystem in the country. It can provide the necessary infrastructure and resources for startups. Dedicated townships in Russia have proved to be very helpful in the growth of startups. India has also taken the initiative to adopt this model. Let us know what the Russian startup model is.
Russian Startup model
As reported by Mint, the government develops dedicated townships in Russia. Some examples of such townships are the Skolkovo Innovation Center near Moscow, Zhigulevsk Valley Tech-nopark in the Samara region, Innopolis near Kazan (in Tatarstan), and Akademgorodok near Novosibirsk in Siberia. In Russia, startups are allotted space within the townships after they get registered with the government. The space can either be rented or purchased by the startups. The presence of ideal space in an industrial and startup area and that too on cheap rates reduces the burden on the small enterprises. This model gave Russian startups an opportunity to flourish. There are more than 21,500 such startups in Russia.
What are plans in India?
India is also planning townships of up to 500 acres to bring all stakeholders entrepreneurs, innovators and investors together. The integrated township will provide easy and helpful access to important resources, advisors and facilities under one roof. The townships will be built by the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC). The government has also approved the development of 12 industrial smart cities in 10 states.
Possible locations from Startup townships
The Central government is likely to set up the Startup townships near existing hubs like Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai as they are major and established centers of technological and entrepreneurial activity. The government also hopes to promote collaboration between experienced entrepreneurs and emerging startups. Consultations are going on between stakeholders such as the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), and technical institutes (IIT Madras and Bombay) and industry bodies.
Startup India program
According to the reports, the government claims that the Startup India program launched in 2016 has contributed to the success of more than 1,46,000 startups. The centre operates several digital platforms, some of which are the Startup India Investor Connect Portal, National Mentorship Portal MAARG (Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience, Growth), Startup India Showcase and Startup India Seed Fund. Startups in India are crucial as the country is the third largest startup ecosystem in the world after the US and China in terms of the number of startups.
