Non-IT start-ups urge govt to make policy inclusive

With the announcement of the Goa Start-Up Policy which mainly covers the IT space, Goa Inc is now waiting for the extension of this policy into non-IT start-up areas which has shown phenomenal growth. The start-up policy should give the same leverage to those engaged in social sector as those given to IT space.

Co-founder of 99 Petals and a well-known personality in film making Gurudas Kamat is of the opinion that artificial intelligence has now taken over the work of entry level people in the IT sector. “Apart from artificial intelligence, we now see that in manufacturing sector too robotics is now taking over the manual jobs for it is efficient and cheaper for a manufacturer. We need to look into creativity now and how local Goans who may not be very prolific in technical issues can benefit out of that. IT alone is not start-up. There could be other start-ups too which are engaged in social sector. You cannot overlook the non-IT set-ups. Developed countries have taken up Creative and Cultural Service (CCS) industry and it is doing great.” 

General manager of CIBA, D S Prashant believes that the Start-Up Policy is a comprehensive policy with a perfect approach to draw out the priorities of the government in promoting technology-based start-ups in Goa. As the mandates are now clearly drawn for IT and technology-related start-up companies the only aspect left to be looked into is the inclusion of non-IT sectors into the domain for benefits.

“Some of the focus areas of the Central government include agriculture and allied fields, bio-technology, building materials/construction technology, electricity, new and renewable energy and environmental sustainability, education, health and pharmaceuticals, water among others. I am sure that the State government is also looking closely at these sectors and will extend the benefits of the start-up policy to these sectors in the days to come,” said M D S Prashant, GM, CIBA.

Raghunath Lohar a native of Kolhapur in Maharashtra did his incubation from CIBA, Verna. He invented a device — Vajra, which could help construction labourers to carry bricks over their shoulder with much ease and this invention fetched him a National Innovation Council Award in 2012. 

“I never used any information technology. It was just a simple idea which just propped up. I guess that the government should also look into it and encourage the non-technology, non-IT innovators,” Raghunath Lohar told Herald. 

Raghunath is now into innovation and has come out with the following: (1) Vajra – device for labourers (2) Broom splinting machine (3) Sugarcane bud cutting machine (4) Hydraulic noodle extruder machine (5) Agricultural implements (6) First Reverse rotavator (7) low cost water heater (8) Wheelchair – with up-down motion (9) Multipurpose ruler (10) Switching device.

Today Raghunath Lohar is listed in “India book of records” in 2013 and has undergone training workshops from IIM Ahmadabad, MIT (USA) on design and technology commercialization etc.

Managing director of Sevarat, Rohini Gonsalves believes that, “If the intention of the start-up policy is to encourage entrepreneurship, it should include all industries not just IT and ITES. We need to look at manufacturing and services too. The scope of the start-up policy should be more expansive and inclusive. After all we will have an IT policy to address the needs of the IT industry.”

Mittanshu Satla, founder and CEO of Twisted Tiffins, which delivers hot food at the table of officer goers in Goa asked Herald, “Why do we have to be a tech company to be a start-up? At the end of the day we as a start-up aim to deliver an experience more than a product or service to the customer, and technology is just one of the mediators to do so.”

Rajula Gupta, business coach and start-up mentor is of the opinion that after presenting a comprehensive start-up policy aimed only at the IT sector, the Goa Government needs to expand its scope to include non-IT related industries as soon as possible. 

“There are a number of non-IT related start-ups in various fields that are already doing well and including them in the policy benefit the Goan economy as a whole. Creative MakerZ, a student education company has already set-up a unique school lab that teaches Robotics, Aero Modeling and 3-D printing and aims to set-up such labs in every school in Goa,” added Mr Gupta. 

Similarly, Nellikuru Innovations which participated in Kaun Banega Udyogpati (KBU) contest hosted by CIBA, has patented a chemical reagent which greatly reduces the cost of steel production. “They have already tested their product with large companies like Essar Steel and aims to offer its product to all steel plants across India which would make Indian steel more competitive in the global marketplace. There are many more examples in the fields of agriculture, tourism, medicine, hospitality, health, waste management and other industries that are quietly working to make a difference to the Goan and national economy. All these innovations are taking place in Goa and the incentives of the start-up policy should be made available to them which will help them scale up and grow to become the next generation of successful businesses which are Made In Goa,” said Rajula Gupta.