Lucknow :

A provision of Rs 5-crore for setting up incubators in Lucknow is a first in UP budget, say experts. It’s probably for the first time that that the government has focussed on entrepreneurial development in the state. UP never had an incubation centre or cell beyond institutions like IIT, Kanpur or IIM, Lucknow .

“It will turn students into employers and not employment-seekers,” says Prof Manish Gaur, founder director, Institute of Advanced Studies, APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University, and a member of the innovation and incubation cell. In UP, since students do not have the money for start-ups, they mostly hunt for jobs. That’s where the role of incubation cell becomes important.

These cells are meant to support under-graduate and post-graduate students willing to set up industrial units or a start-ups. They provide a conducive environment to students as far as designing the product, finding the market and addressing legal issues is concerned.

Once the start-up or the industrial unit becomes matured and strong enough to be a stand-alone set up, the entrepreneur can migrate. The incubation cells can be set up in universities or private institutes which are matured enough to provide the support an incubation cell.

Industrial Investment and Employment Promotion Policy 2017 emphasises on promoting start-ups by reducing regulatory burden on them; creating venture capital fund; setting up incubation centres to connect start-ups with resources for running their businesses and connect them to network of experts and opening up incubation centres in government and private engineering colleges, management institutes and other technical organizations.

“But government should guard against start-ups migrating to other states once matured,” the professor adds.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Lucknow News / TNN / July 12th, 2017