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GUSEC

The Gujarat University Startup and Entrepreneurship Council, GUSEC (1), received the grant from an autonomous board under the Department of Science and Technology. The council will utilize the seed funding for the next three years to support startups with its network. Furthermore, the size of the average ticket would be 25 lakhs INR per startup.

The NSTEDB, National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board, the autonomous board under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, approved the grant to GUSEC as part of the NIDHI Seed Support System scheme. Notably, it will allow the council to invest in startups.

Prof Himanshu Pandya, the Vice-Chancellor of GU, and the ex-officio chairperson of GUSEC, stated that it had been four years since the team started to promote and nurture entrepreneurs and innovations. The team believes that capital access is one of the biggest hurdles for startups in Gujarat.

He added that with the latest assistance from NSTEDB under DST, GUSEC could directly invest in startups. Consequently, it would become a vital and remarkable development for the Gujarat startup ecosystem.

In October 2018, as an extended arm of NIDHI, National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations incepted GUSEC as a technology business incubator. Previously, the council also got support from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, GOI, MeitY, and state ministries.

GUSEC Aims to Offer More Flexibility to Startups and Curb Their Reliance on Foreign Investors

Recently, India’s government has made several efforts to end the reliance of Indian startups on foreign investors, especially from the US and China. In 2020, India made amendments to its FDI rules and made it mandatory to take the government’s approval for investments from all neighboring counties.

The development was made to prevent opportunistic takeovers by Chinese investors of Indian firms amid the COVID-19 pandemic resultant financial agitation.

The government is also ensuring that the government meets the entrepreneurs’ growth capital requirement via several schemes. It has made talks with the global pension fund and IRDAI, the Insurance Regulatory Department Authority of India, to pour 2 Billion USD AIF, an alternative investment fund.

Recently, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs also made amendments to rules for deposits acceptance by companies. It allows startups to secure funds via corporate bonds or other convertible instruments to 10 years, along with several other changes.

The move will provide more flexibility to startups for raising funds, especially during the present time, where businesses and the economy is severely impacted.

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