Colleges to get Rs 10L aid for incubation setups

Panaji: The state has made a new scheme operational, under which colleges in Goa will be provided Rs 10 lakh aid to establish incubation centres within their premises.

This is to boost the interest of youth and encourage them to come up with new startups, chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Monday.

Sawant said that the state distributed Rs 4 crore in subsidies for startups so far and that govt is offering up to Rs 10 lakh as seed funding to Goan startups, salary support of Rs 15,000 for 10 persons employed at the start-up, and an additional Rs 25,000 for those hiring Goan staff.

“We are offering subsidies for co-working space for internet and cloud services, and we are reimbursing sums spent on research and development,” said Sawant while interacting with the students of Dempo College.

He said the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India opened its branch at the Economic Development Corporation and will help anyone desiring to set up a business with handholding.

“Anyone who wants to do a business can approach them and they will do the handholding about what type of business, what skill you have and what the future is. We have also started our Atal Incubation Centre at Goa Institute of Management. In the future, we are starting a global capability centre in Goa, which is for AI and other innovation. A centre of excellence in skilling will be made operational in Goa. A state data centre will also be started in Goa,” the chief minister said, adding that at present, 635 recognised start-ups are operational in Goa.

Further, he said, “If you go to a state like Bihar, they are starting preparation for IAS and IPS from Class XI and even Class VIII. If we want to crack the Goa State Public Service Commission exam to become deputy collectors or mamlatdars, we have to start preparation today. Even if we want to become a clerk, we have to clear the Staff Selection Commission exam now. This is a completely transparent exam, fully computer-based, where you get your results instantly.”