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<ul><li>The Karnataka government has adopted the Coronavirus tracking platform developed by Nasscom taskforce.</li><li>The taskforce includes companies like Intel India, Microsoft, Wirpo, AWS, Mindtree, Infosys, SAP Labs India and others.</li></ul> Karnataka government has adopted a Covid tracking platform developed by Nasscom Task Force to continue its fight against the pandemic using technology, said a minister on Saturday. "We have been driving all our efforts tirelessly to fight this ongoing crisis and it has been great to witness the industry joining their hands against our war on Covid. In these testing times technology innovation has been our greatest ally," said Deputy Chief Minister C. N. Ashwathnarayan in a statement. The end to end tracking platform is based on open architecture using advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) models to help state governments take informed decisions. Coming with a plug and play option, Karnataka government can choose the features it wants to use and can also integrate the solution with its existing platform. It can be hosted on any cloud platform as preferred by the government. Multiple IT players have collaborated for free to build the platform whose initial set of dashboards will be offered to the government. Six dashboards have been developed for the southern state which include Covid summary, Covid source analysis, testing summary, tests by category, hospital capacity and India summary. Nasscom Task Force consists of Intel India, Fractal Analytics, Microsoft India, AWS, Mindtree, SAP Labs India, Infosys, Accenture, Wipro, Sprinklr, Tableau, Mapbox and others. The IT industry body aims to deliver a similar platform to other states as well. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/how-to/indian-government-launches-app-to-track-coronavirus-patients-called-aarogya-setu/articleshow/74949415.cms">How to download and use Aarogya Setu Coronavirus tracking app</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/experts-explain-the-legal-and-moral-pitfalls-in-aarogya-setu-app-despite-the-governments-insistence-that-a-protocol-has-been-put-in-place/articleshow/75690239.cms">Experts explain the legal and moral pitfalls in Aarogya Setu app ⁠— despite the government’s insistence that a protocol has been put in place</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/uk-rejects-coronavirus-tracking-app-framework-proposed-by-google-and-apple-to-create-its-own-centralised-app/articleshow/75445032.cms">UK rejects Google and Apple's Coronavirus tracking app framework</a>

Karnataka government adopts Coronavirus tracking platform developed by Nasscom taskforce

<ul><li>In a bid to boost research and development (R&amp;D) practices in the state, the Information and Technology department of the government of Karnataka may set up a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Design. </li><li>The move is aimed at having a blended experience from industry, academia and R&amp;D institutes in the new technologies. </li><li>Bengaluru is one of the shortlisted cities for the <keyword id="1476792" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Design-Capital">World Design Capital</keyword> 2022.</li></ul>In a bid to boost research and development (R&amp;D) in the state, the Information and Technology department of Karnataka could set up a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for design. The move is aimed at having a blended experience from industry, academia and R&amp;D institutes in the new technologies. With this, the state government wants to nourish the design ecosystem with funding, incubation, new technology domains and global connect. “We are in talks with Indian Institute of Science to establish a CoE for Design to act as the nodal agency for enhancing this domain in Karnataka,” Dr E V Ramana Reddy, <keyword id="6372077" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="nasscom">NASSCOM</keyword> DESIGN4INDIA Design Summit and Awards at Bengaluru said. NASSCOM DESIGN4INDIA is an open platform focussed on providing design solutions to the IT workforce. “Bengaluru is competing at a global level, through exchange of people and ideas, so that Karnataka may consistently maintain its lead position in innovation, science and technology,” he added. The World Design Organization’s initiative “World Design Capital (WDC) goes to the city that has used design to optimise urban areas. Bengaluru is one of the shortlisted cities for the World Design Capital 2022.”

Karnataka government plans to set up a Centre of Excellence for design with IISc

Karnataka’s IT, BT and Tourism Minister Priyank Kharge has announced a <keyword id="3512783" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Startup-Booster-Kit">Startup Booster Kit</keyword>. This is expected to boost <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=startup+ecosystem&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Bengaluru</a>’s <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=startup+ecosystem&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">startup ecosystem</a>, and get it to regain its top spot in the country. The booster kit has facilities like access to mentors, cloud credits and incubators. 
 
The government is looking to help 20,000 startups by 2020. The government has roped in biggies like IBM, Amazon Web Services, Vodafone and Microsoft among others to offer discounted internet services, payment gateways and other tech services startups typically need. 
 
The government has announced a solid Rs 400-crore package that’ll be disbursed through grants and equity through various State government initiatives. The minister said money shouldn’t be an issue, as he expects to raise upto Rs 2,000 Crores. The government also plans a monthly open house for the start-ups, the first event being planned at the at GoK-Nasscom 10,000 startups warehouse on 17 August. 
 
In case the announcements seem a bit too much to catch up with, we have a simpler, more comprehensive list ready. 
 
Major Incentives: 
 
· Under the Innovate Karnataka initiative, the government has announced financial aid of up to $60 Mn (Rs. 400 Crores) in the form of grant/equity through its various funds to startups over the next four years. 
 · The government has set up a <keyword id="3520658" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Startup-Cell">Startup Cell</keyword> in KBITS (Karnataka Biotechnology and <keyword id="631367" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="information-technology-services">Information Technology Services</keyword>) to implement tthe Startup Policy initiatives. 
 
· KBITS will help startups with marketing, promotion, networking, administer tax incentives and offer help in patent filing. 
 · A <keyword id="3305581" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="startup-portal">Startup Portal</keyword>, <a href="http://www.startup.karnataka.gov.in/" target="_blank">http://www.startup.karnataka.gov.in/</a> has also been launched to enable and educate startups on policies. 
 
· Over the last year, 725 seats have been created through Government of Karnataka support to incubators. Around 300 seats are currently available at subsidized rate for startups in GOK-<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Bengaluru&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">NASSCOM</a> 10,000 startups warehouse. 
 
· A monthly open house event is planned under the Chairmanship of the Minister for IT and BT to provide an opportunity to registered startups to meet with the Department officers. 
 · The GOK-Startup Cell has put together a <keyword id="3520657" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="startup-karnataka-booster">Startup Karnataka Booster</keyword> kit for the benefit of startups registered with it. 
 
Want to know the details? Here's the complete document: 
<a href="//www.slideshare.net/AparnaMishra25/the-startup-karnataka-booster-kit" target="_blank" title="The Startup Karnataka Booster Kit">The Startup Karnataka Booster Kit</a> from Aparna Mishra 
 
<a href="http://images.grabhouse.com/urbancocktail/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/cover24.jpg">Image Source</a>

Karnataka now has launched a Startup Booster Kit – Here’s
what is in it

New Delhi, June 19 () The Centre has asked all states to replicate the best practices implemented by Karnataka, which includes comprehensive contact tracing of COVID-19 cases and physical or phone-based household survey, for better management of the coronavirus pandemic. The Union Health Ministry on Friday lauded the two initiatives taken by Karnataka that have been developed as part of the 'whole of government' approach with the involvement of multi-sectoral agencies and supported by technology-based solutions and interventions. They effectively trace and track each case thereby successfully containing the spread of the epidemic, the ministry said. "The Centre has asked the other states to adapt these best practices to their local context and replicate them for better management of the COVID-19 pandemic," the ministry said in its statement. India on Friday added 13,586 new COVID-19 cases, the highest recorded in a single day so far, pushing the tally to 3,80,532, while the death toll rose to 12,573 with 336 new fatalities, according to Health Ministry data. Karnataka has reported 114 deaths and 7,944 cases, according to the data updated at 8 am. Contact tracing is a critical component towards containing the epidemic and ensuring that the health infrastructure does not get overwhelmed. Karnataka has widened the definition of 'contact' to include both the high-risk as well as low-risk contacts as defined by the central government. The number of primary and secondary contacts in Karnataka were meticulously traced and put under strict quarantine, the ministry said. More than 10,000 well trained field staff carried out specific responsibilities for contact tracing as per the detailed SOP designed by the state which prescribes step-by-step actions to be performed by each designated person. Contact tracing mobile app and web applications are being used to overcome the huge quantum of work, genuine forgetfulness of the positive persons and attempts to hide facts due to various reasons, the statement said. The State has been able to curtail the spread of infection in slums of big corporation areas through compulsory institutional quarantine of the contacts residing in slums or similar areas. It has also been made mandatory for all returnees and travellers coming to Karnataka to register on "Seva Sindhu" portal, which enables the state to follow them for the next few days when they are in home or institutional quarantine. The 'Quarantine Watch App' is used to assist the field workers in enforcing the quarantine. The state has also formed mobile squads for enforcement of the home quarantine through community participation. In case information is received from the neighbour or public about violation of quarantine by any person, that person is moved to institutional quarantine. With a view to identifying, protecting and treating high risk population like the elderly, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women and those with Influenza like Illness (ILI)/ Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) on priority, Karnataka has conducted a physical/phone based household survey, the ministry said. The survey was carried out during May and covered 153 lakh households out of total 168 lakh total households. Polling Booth Level Officers (BLO) were engaged to collect necessary information by using a Health Survey App as well as a web application. The data collected through the survey was complemented by the information already available with the Health Department for pregnant mothers and TB/HIV/Dialysis/Cancer patients. An outreach campaign through Apthamitra tele-consultation helpline (14410) set up by the state government, with support from NASSCOM, is being used to reach out to the households at risk through interactive voice response system (IVRS) and outbound calls. The households reporting anyone with COVID-19 like symptoms are triaged by a telemedicine doctor and further advised. Field level health worker (ASHAs) also visit these households to ensure that the required healthcare service is provided. PLB DV DV

States asked to replicate initiatives taken by Karnataka for COVID-19 management

One of the biggest <keyword id="6357097" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="venture-capital">Venture Capital</keyword> Firms <keyword id="720079" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="IvyCap-Ventures">IvyCap Ventures</keyword>, through a new wing called <keyword id="3119261" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="IvyCamp">IvyCamp</keyword>, is trying to engage with IITs, IIMs, BITs and ISB as well as industry experts at multiple levels to foster a startup ecosystem in India. 
 
It is connecting alumni across educational institutions to build a network of mentors, investors, and experts, but at the same time also making connections to ensure the guidance and money are pouring into the right startups and innovations arising out of the campuses. For this, the company has been going to Indian B-schools for the past few years now, trying to make relationships with incubators here and helping startups or innovations (from colleges as well as outside) find the right match and resources. 
 
So basically, the potential ideas or entrepreneurs are linked to IvyCamp's startups/investors/mentors network or corporations so that innovations from campuses are more visible, they can be commercialized and startups can leap onto the next level. 
 While on a tour to <keyword id="60501" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IIM-Bangalore">IIM Bangalore</keyword>, we interviewed the Vice President of IvyCamp who is driving this objective in India and globally: 
 
 
 
Here are some more insights from the interview on IvyCamp's work so far: 
 
Holding Events On Campus 
 
Adhiraj Banerjee told Business Insider - "We are doing continuous events at IITs and IIMs and now we are headed to couple of other institutions as well. The idea here is to give the right direction to early stage entrepreneurs who need lot of mentoring in basic areas like how to build your B-plan, how to do your valuation and a sounding board for them." 
 
Setting up incubators 
 
As a part of their objective to help young innovators and entrepreneurs, IvyCamp is conducting education programmes with colleges and also setting up its own incubators. 
 
"Just in the last two weeks, we have signed 14 incubators. We are setting incubators in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka and the idea is to not restrict the ecosystem to just the campuses. That means we will be doing the exact same things we are doing in colleges outside as well like pitch events, mentor events, education programmes etc," said Adhiraj. 
 
Tie-up with <keyword id="3558756" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="nasscom-10k-startups-programme">Nasscom 10k Startups Programme</keyword> 
 
IvyCamp felt the success of IoT startups coming out of India needed a consolidated boost. Adhiraj said – “This tie-up was therefore done to evangelize IoT and to help startups in this space in India get access to manufacturing units, connect with the industry who may use their applications and also connect them to the foreign governments.” 
 
Efforts to bring angel investors onboard 
 
Another way IvyCamp is trying to help startups is by roping in angel investors along with IvyCap Ventures investing in IvyCamp startups. 
“Sometimes we find startups during events or through our outreach programmes which we can be invested in. We have invested in two such startups recently and we are looking to increase that by bringing higher number of investors on the platform.” 
 
It seems like B-school students who wish to become entrepreneurs now have a big reason to smile!

VC Firm IvyCap is going into IITs, IIMs and ISB to fund startups.
Yes, Christmas just came early this year

<keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>’s <keyword id="1929810" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Digital-India">Digital India</keyword> campaign’s 4th pillar got a huge push today with the launch of 25 National <keyword id="6372493" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="digital-literacy">Digital Literacy</keyword> Mission (<keyword id="2549695" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="NDLM">NDLM</keyword>) centres in 12 cities across India. Including these centres from the partnership with <keyword id="6358384" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="SAP">SAP</keyword>, <keyword id="6372077" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nasscom">NASSCOM</keyword> Foundation has launched over 75 NDLM centres across India and hopes to reach 125 centre mark by March 2016, making over 1,25,000 households digitally literate in an year. 

	The states of Delhi, Uttarakhand, Jammu &amp; Kashmir, Karnataka, West Bengal, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu will benefit from this collaboration between NASSCOM, DeiTy and SAP.
 

	On the sidelines of the event, NASSCOM Foundation also launched its MyKartavya app to give scale to the mission. With this app, one can train househelps, drivers, security guards or any other digitally non-literate person living in the vicinity.
 

	“We are also launching a nation-wide digital literacy volunteering campaign wherein each volunteer will train at least two individuals on digital literacy skills through the newly created NDLM-MyKartavya mobile app,” said Shrikant Sinha, CEO of NASSCOM Foundation.
 

	While this seems to be a great step towards the development of the nation, some obvious questions arise as to how the rural areas can access the services, the infrastructure, the money involved, and the effectiveness of the programme and the efficiencies of the government in implementing it.
 

	“There are two challenges. People should come in and get these courses and the resources in terms of trainers and volunteers to carry it out...There is also an issue of inclusiveness,” Ganesh Natarajan, Chairman of NASSCOM Foundation told Business Insider India.
 

	So, how is the success the programme guaranteed, as there would be many who wouldn’t be willing to come or won’t show interest?
 

	“Marketing the programme is a big challenge. Hence this is a four level model- Agencies, Counselling, Training and Digital literacy and skills,” he said.
 

	They will be adding a new level to this soon. 
 

	“Even after getting a job, we want to make sure that the person has always got someone for counselling.”
 

	This development is after the incident at their Pune centre. Last year 200 people got jobs but after two months, 120 people dropped out.
 

	NDLM works towards digital literacy awareness, education and capacity building of the citizens of our country to help rural and the undeserved communities fully participate in the global digital economy. The first goal is to make 52.5 lakh people digitally literate by 2017.

	 
	 
	(Image credits: )

Cheers to a Digitally Literate India, but time for a reality check

On October 6, Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> and German Chancellor <keyword id="76" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Angela-Merkel">Angela Merkel</keyword> will be participating jointly in two programmes in Bengalaru. 
 According to the itinerary released by Karnataka government, both the leaders will be visiting the Bosch Factory at Adugodi and share the dais at a <keyword id="6372077" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Nasscom">NASSCOM</keyword> event. 
 
Merkel will be arriving in India on October 4 on a three-day visit during which she will hold comprehensive talks with Modi on key bilateral and international issues including trade and security situation in the region. 
 
The German Chancellor will be arriving here on October 5 to the event and leave for Germany in the afternoon the next day. 
 
The Prime Minister will arrive on October 6 and leave for New Delhi the same day, an official release said. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

PM Narendra Modi to meet Angela Merkel in Bengalaru on October 6

Bengaluru, Apr 22 () Aimed at empowering people in itsfight against coronavirus, the Karnataka government onWednesday launched "Apthamitra" helpline with an exclusivetoll free number and a mobile app, aimed at providing requiredmedical advice and guidance for those in need. The help line and app was launched by Chief Minister B SYediyurappa in the presence of senior Ministers and officialsof the department."If anyone has symptoms of coronavirus, they can call thehelpline from their home, get medical advice or assistance andget their doubts cleared.Based on the symptoms, an expert team of doctors willadvice on what to do next," he said.According to the department, the 'Apthamitra' helplinewill work from 8 AM to 8 PM, with helpline Centers at sixlocations in Bengaluru (four centers), Mysore and Mangalore(Bantwal) with total of 300 seat capacity are being set up.It's a two tier system where the first tier is manned byAYUSH or nursing or pharma final year volunteer students.The second tier is manned by MBBS or Integrated Medicineor AYUSH volunteer doctors connecting from their respectivelocations for risk assessment, counselling, telemedicine andreferral for testing and treatment, it added. The helpline "14410" will cover residents in all parts ofthe state.While the 'Apthamitra' App is for those with smart phoneto seek advice for telemedicine from doctors directly.The purpose of this initiative is to reach out to people,especially those staying in Corona hotspot areas, identifythose having Influenza Like Illness (ILI), Severe AcuteRespiratory Infection (SERI), coronavirus like symptoms orhaving high risk of getting infected, the state healthdepartment said.It also intends to identify people with low risk, buthaving some symptoms similar to those of coronavirus andprovide them telemedicine support with OTC medicines, andcounsel them for self-quarantine.It also aims to follow-up all low risk cases till theyget fully cured, along with assessing those having medium tohigh risk of coronavirus and get them to fever clinics orCOVID-19 screening centers for testing and treatment, thedepartment said in a release.The intention of the platform is to analyse incidence ofIlI, inform decisions for graded relaxation of the lockdown toresume economic activities in areas with low prevalence of thesymptoms while stepping up containment measures in hotspots,clusters and disease break-out areas, it said.This entire Solution is owned by Health and FamilyWelfare Department and State Disaster Management Authority.The system works under the aegis of NASSCOM, Bengaluru.The Digital Mobile app and the back end CRM system havebeen developed by Infosys BPM (the subsidiary of Infosys Ltd),the release said.Further Infosys BPM and Hinduja Global Solutions haveworked together to design, build and execute the Multi-Channelcustomer contact Solution with the Contact Center Infra beingprovided by Infosys, HGS, Concentrix, MPhasis and HCL aspartners in the fight against coronavirus,it added. KSU APRRAVINDRANATH APRRAVINDRANATH

K'taka govt launches "Apthamitra" helpline and App to fight COVID-19

New Delhi, Apr 20 () India on Monday started a staggered exit from the world's biggest lockdown as curbs on economic activity in rural areas were lifted but business remained sporadic as some companies decided to wait for the complete lifting of restrictions on goods and people's movement.The government had last week allowed industries in rural areas and farmers as well as makers of information technology hardware to resume operations as it looked to revive stalled economic activity that suffered an estimated Rs 7-8 lakh crore of loss.FMCG companies, like many other industries, had to face major hassles of supply chain disruption and fall in available labourers following the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing lockdown imposed to curb its spread, are looking to maximise production with easing of curbs.Major auto OEMs, however, are looking to restart operations in a phased manner only post-May 3 when the extended lockdown is scheduled to be lifted. This because functional retail and vendor network are still absent, blocking cash flows.Work from home is expected to continue for employees in the information technology and business process management industry for some more time as many states like Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana have decided to continue with full lockdown without any relaxations.The three states house a sizeable number of IT-BPM firms.The government on its part looked at public sector firms for anchoring the biggest part of economic revival. To begin with, state-owned oil firms have decided to resume as many as 511 projects involving over Rs 42,000 crore of investment with immediate effect.Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), Indian Oil Corp (IOC), GAIL, Oil India Ltd and six other public sector firms identified projects that either in rural areas or have in situ labour for the resumption of work, oil ministry sources said. These projects will involve Rs 2,210 crore of payout to suppliers and labourers in the first month and generate around 7 crore man-days of employment.With the government allowing manufacturing-related relaxations in certain green zones starting Monday, FMCG companies hoped this will help them indirectly in restarting activities in industrial clusters. But, full ramp-up of the supply chain may take 30-40 days, once the lockdown is fully lifted.Consumer goods companies are expecting to ramp up production capacity to 60-65 per cent from current levels of 40-50 per cent.While the government has permitted restarting construction activities, real estate developers continue to face problems particularly over the availability of labourers.Most migrant labourers had returned to their native state following the imposition of nationwide lockdown on March 25. The government has not yet started the inter-state movement of labourers and so companies continue to face the problem.Companies like Patanjali, Ruchi Soya, Dabur and Parle Products that have been operating their plants in a scaled-down manner during the first phase of lockdown with limited workforce suggested giving manufacturing permission to their several suppliers, which are mostly MSMEs and fall within the city radius, as it is affecting the smooth functioning of the supply chain."Factories of Patanjali and Ruchi Soya were operational even during the lockdown because we operate in food and essentials. However, there were issues regarding transportation and supply chain, etc during the lockdown, which I expect to ease out slowly," Yoga Guru Ramdev told .According to him, Patanjali witnessed almost two to three-fold jump in the demand for its several products and expected that the supply of such products would be increased in the market going forward.Similarly, Dabur India Executive Director-Operations Shahrukh Khan said, "Almost all of Dabur's factories are operational today, producing a range of ayurvedic medicines, hygiene products like hand sanitizers, hand wash, and daily essentials, with strict implementation of SOPs for social distancing at offices, workplace, factories, proper sanitization of buildings, factories".He further said, "We are now trying to maximize production, given the supply chain constraints, and material and manpower availability".Parle Products Category Head Mayank Shah said that food was exempted and factories were open but at a reduced capacity of around 40-45 per cent following the restraint imposed by the government on the number of workforce.IT companies are still awaiting clarity from a few other states to determine the future course of action.Industry body Nasscom had advised members that where state-specific approvals come in, members should look at a staggered approach and start with 15-20 per cent workforce in the first phase, and subsequently scale it up depending on the situation on the ground."The home ministry guidelines had allowed IT-ITeS companies to operate with up to 50 per cent strength from April 20 and we had suggested member companies to take a staggered approach and start with 15-20 per cent workforce in phase I, and then increase it depending on the on-ground situation," Nasscom Senior Vice-President and Chief Strategy Officer Sangeeta Gupta told .However, states also have their own rules that have to be followed for allowing IT companies to open offices, she said, adding that Uttar Pradesh and Delhi have already clarified that no such activity will be allowed."Also, IT companies are just settling into the work from the home mechanism, they have taken requisite permissions from clients for this, and so I do not think they will be in a hurry to get employees back to offices and risk their health," Gupta said.About 90 per cent of IT employees and 70-80 per cent of BPO and small and medium businesses in the sector are estimated to be working from home to ensure business continuity. KRH SR MBI RKL ANZ BAL

Lockdown curbs ease but business activity remains sporadic

India is a rich admixture of some of the world’s most brilliant, creative and technical minds, who have all the capabilities and potential to create the next Google or the next biggest innovation driven global company. 
 
India is a battery of venture capital firms, which are making a beeline to capitalize on the growth story but will creating a Google in India be a reality? May be, or maybe not. 
 
An eternal optimist would always search for the light at the end of the tunnel. An inveterate pessimist would see that as the light of an on-coming engine, while an unassuming realist would search for his torch light to make his way through the darkness. 
 
Sunny Side up 
 
Keen observers of the startup space in India fall under these three categories. As someone who heads a startup in the fin-tech space and serves as a mentor to upcoming startups, I am bound to don the hat of someone who sees developments in this space ‘Sunny side up’. The numbers justify optimism. With more than 4,200 new-age companies, India has overtaken Israel to grab the third position among global startup ecosystems, behind US and the UK. A report by NASSCOM, startups have created more than 80,000 jobs so far and can create 2,50,000 jobs if their number balloons to 11,500 by 2020. 
 
There has been no dearth of funding with VCCEdge data revealing the tripling of angel and seed investments from $30 million in Q3 CY2014 to $94 million in Q3 CY2015. Add to it, the ‘Startup India, Standup India’ slogan coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has led to States like Telangana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka competing to develop startup policies and offer infrastructural support like that of incubators and co-working spaces. 
 
But the reality is… 
A study conducted by Kauffman Foundation in 2012-13 observed that 33.2% of co-founders of tech firms founded by immigrants in the US were Indians. While we take pride in the fact that the CEOs of global behemoths such as Google, Microsoft and MasterCard, among many others, are Indians who migrated to the US, we should really be asking ourselves if they would have reached the pinnacle of their career had they stayed in India and started something of their own. 
 
India is being ranked 130 out of 189 countries in the ease of doing business index which validates the quote by Chairman Google Eric Schmidt “Problem is not with Indians, but with India.” What are the ground hurdles that are resulting in a prospective Indian Google being nipped in the bud and a possible Brain Drain 2.0? 
 
The need for an Innovation Ecosystem 
It all starts with the education system, which has given birth to technical geniuses albeit via rote learning. It is a system that does not encourage failure which then seeps into societal norms of measuring success on the parameters of the education degrees one holds and the monthly salary that gets credited. Innovation needs minds that are receptive to knowledge and are unhindered by socio-economic constraints. 
 
Till the time this change in mindset comes about, college drop outs or those who sit out of B-school placements who venture into entrepreneurship to set up the Indian Google will continue to be seen as failures and this places a very high emotional burden if there is no family backing. 
 
Difficulties in setting up shop 
If an Indian Google were to open shop in India, the bureaucratic procedures from getting the company name registered, to the tax regulations, every procedure will take weeks when compared to a few hours in developed markets. All this administrative hassle is bound to consume at least 20% of founders’ time and efforts. 
 
Regulatory hurdles while raising money and doing business 
To raise various rounds of funding, co-founders of India’s Google would first need to get a Chartered Accountant or a Merchant Banker to issue a valuation certificate. The equity premium will be considered as income in the company and hence be made liable to pay income tax. And there is a clause that makes the promoter(s) liable to pay a fine of a minimum of Rs 2 crore or the investment amount; whichever is higher in the event of any inadvertent mistake is something that merits urgent attention. 
 
If venture capital is raised from investors abroad, the promoters have to contend with a host of RBI compliances, FEMA regulations besides the ROC regulations. They will not be allowed to communicate to the RBI directly, but go through authorized dealer bank. The RBI, however, can send them direct notices. 
 
For international sales, the company may opt for a set up in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) or Software Technology Park (STPI). If it chooses operations in an SEZ, every single foreign invoice will need to be reported to the SEZ along with full detailed paper work. For their domestic sales, the company runs the risk of being asked to invoice domestic clients in dollars, thereby throwing a spanner in the works and forcing it to either consider moving out of the SEZ or opening another unit for domestic sales. 
 
Difficulties in scaling up 
Like most early stage businesses, India’s Google will have to start with smaller clients who will ask for free trials, customizations and white labeling/exclusivity. It will be made to negotiate contracts at the lowest price until its differentiation is truly innovative and not replicated by fellow competitors. Failing which, it would take years for it to break even and step up to larger clients with a higher ticket size. 
 
No company can scale up without a pool of talented human resources. While it is easy to get cost efficient talent in India, it is a colossal task to hire and retain the best talent. While 12 million people join the workforce every year in India, a FICCI-E&amp;Y Survey (2011) revealed that it is only 25% who are considered “employable”, and possibly less than 1% may have what it takes to be at Google. 
 
With high rates of attrition in the technology space, India’s Google will need to ensure no employee takes away the company’s IP to a competitor. Given that such breaches are not very well defined in the legal system and that securing patents is a challenge (About 2.46 lakh patent applications and 5.32 lakh trademark registrations are pending with the government due to shortage of manpower), this is another loophole needs to be plugged. 
 
During the scale up of operations and businesses, the directors of growth stage firms are highly likely to be summoned by various authorities (Income Tax, etc.) for explanations of their profits, losses, which are likely to be all clean banking transactions. Such harassment is common and disheartening for most Indian entrepreneurs. 
 
Startup Act 
In an attempt to improve the ease of doing business for startups, there is talk of a 2-page Startup Act that will distill and simplify 22 different laws together. 
 
While I sincerely hope it works, I wonder why we have distinct 22 laws in the first place. Why don’t we simplify and rationalize the business environment for all? Is it even possible to distill 22 laws into 2 pages? 
 
In a nutshell 
All the above highlighted issues are a few examples of a complicated working environment in India. While our government campaigns worldwide for companies to come and “Make in India”, we are seeing many startups goaded by VCs to move their setup outside India to a country with a more predictable regulatory regime in order to parry the problems discussed above (example Flipkart, Grofers etc.). This coupled with public listings of Indian companies in foreign exchanges had led to a loss to India’s exchequer (example MakeMyTrip). 
 
The pessimist in me believes that even after 20 years, the search for India’s Google will not be successful. The optimist in me does sees the potential and promise in the regulatory reforms which are afoot, while the realist in me makes me see every day as an opportunity to ideate and create something new – with a bit of Jugaad, a step to create something cutting edge. 
 
As the saying goes, “it’s never as good as you want it to be, but never as bad as it seems”. 
 
(Kunal Nandwani is the Founder and CEO of uTrade Solutions)

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