Govt Departments to Rope in Start-ups for IT Projects up to Rs 1 Crore in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
In a major boost to the startup ecosystem , the State Government has given sanction to its departments and autonomous institutions to invite start-ups registered under the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) in implementation of their IT projects that cost upto Rs one crore.

As per the Government Order (GO) in this regard, the state departments, boards, local self-government institutions, corporations and universities etc can rope in startups through limited tender for design, development and implementation of their IT projects costing above Rs 20 lakh and below Rs one crore.

The decision comes close on the heels of Kerala receiving the honour of ‘Top Performer’ in the annual States’ Startup Ranking 2018, held in New Delhi recently. A total of 27 states and three union territories had participated in the ranking exercise.

Kerala is the first state in the country to give permission to its departments for direct procurement from start-ups, to encourage them to take up innovative projects. Recently, the State Government had increased the cap on direct purchase of software products, services and mobile app by its departments from the ventures cleared by KSUM from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.

“The new Government Order will significantly help the growth of startup ecosystem in the state. This step will bring excellent opportunities for startups, besides helping the state attract such ventures from other states to Kerala,” said Dr Saji Gopinath, CEO, KSUM.

B2G market in Kerala is high and the opportunity for startups in implementing their innovative projects in the government departments is a solid way of validating their products.

Till date, around 40 startups are working with different government departments. It has eased the functioning of departments as well as helped prompt delivery of services by the government departments. Startups from across the country can pitch their products to government departments if they are registered in Kerala.

Earlier, in a letter to the state government, Dr Saji Gopinath had requested to issue orders for selecting startups for the procurement of all types of products and services beyond Rs 20 lakh through limited tender from among the startups registered under KSUM. KSUM is the nodal agency of Government of Kerala for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.